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h
X o
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JANINA
Prom the drawing by P. D. Steele
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COMEDIENNE
BV
.)YSLAVV S. M;iVMONT
BY
EDMUND OU}'..'\\
G. P. PCTxNAM S SONS
NJrV YORK ANP LONDON
IQ20
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J A N I N A
■^^■1
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THE COMEDIENNE
BY
WLADYSLAW St REYMONT
TRANSLATED FROM THE POUSH
BY
EDMUND OBECNY
FRONTISPIECE BT
FREDERICK DORR STEELE
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
XCbe fcnfclierbocfter press
1920
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Copyright, 1920
BY
O. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
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^PUBLISHERS' NOTE
The provincial actors of Poland are some-
times colloquially called ''comedians," as
distinguished from their more pretentious
brethren of the metropolitan stage in Warsaw.
The word, however, does not characterize a
player of comedy parts. Indeed, the provin-
cials, usually performing in open air theatres,
play every conceivable r61e, and as in the case
of Janina, the heroine of this story, the life
of the Com6dienne often embraces far more
tragedy than comedy.
Wladyslaw Reymont is the most widely
known of living Polish writers. The Academy
of Science of Cracow nominated him for
the Nobel Prize for Literature. He is the
author of nimierous novels dealing with var-
ious phases of everyday life in Poland, many
of them translated into French, German, and
Swedish. The Comedienne is the first of his
works to appear in English.
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iv Publishers' Note
Reymont himself was a peasant, rising from
the bottom until to-day the light of his recog-
nized genius shines in the very forefront of
the Slavic intellectuals.
It is interesting to note that for several
years the author was himself a ''Comedian,"
traveling about what was then Russian
Poland with a company of provincial players.
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THE COMEDIENNE
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mrwm^^^^
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The Comedienne
CHAPTER I
BuKOWiEC, a station on the Dombrowa
railroad, lies in a beautiful spot. A winding
line was cut among the beech and pine cov-
ered hills, and at the most level point, between
a mighty hill towering above the woods with
its bald and rocky simimit, and a long narrow
valley, glistening with pools and marshes, was
placed the station. This two-story building
of rough brick containing the qiiarters of
the Station-master and his assistant, a small
wooden house at the side for the telegrapher
and the minor employees, another similar
one near the last switches for the watchman,
three switch-houses at various points, and a
freight-house were the only signs of htiman
habitation.
Surrotmding the station on all sides were the
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2 The Comedienne
mtirmuring woods, while above, a strip of blue
sky, slashed with gray clouds, extended like a
wide-spreading roof.
The sun was veering toward the south and
glowing ever brighter and warmer; the reddish
slopes of the rocky hill, with its ragged summit
gashed by spring freshets, were bathed in a
flood of golden simlight.
The calm of a spring afternoon diffused
itself over all. The trees stood motionless
without a murmur in their boughs. The
sharp emerald leaves of the beeches drooped
drowsily, as though lulled to sleep by the light,
the warmth, and the silence. The twitter of
birds sotmded at rare intervals from the thick-
ets, and only the cry of the water-fowls on the
marshes and the somnolent himi of insects
filled the air. Above the blue line of rails
stretching in an endless chain of curves and
zigzags, the warm air glowed with shifting
hues of violet light.
Out of the office of the station-master came
a short, squarely-built man with light, almost
flaxen hair. He was dressed, or rather
squeezed into a stylish surtout and held his
hat in his hand while a workman helped him
on with his overcoat.
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The Comedienne 3
The station-master stood before him, strok-
ing his grayish beard with an automatic ges-
ttire and smiUng in a friendly manner. He
also was stocky, strongly-knit, and broad
shouldered, and in his blue eyes, flashing jovi-
ally from beneath heavy eyebrows and a
square forehead, there also gleamed deter-
mination and an tmbending will. His straight
nose, full lips, a certain contraction of the
brows, and the sharp direct glance of his eyes,
that seemed like a dagger-stroke — all these
typified a violent nature.
''Good-bye, tmtil to-morrow!" . . .said the
blonde man merrily, extending his big hand in
farewell.
''Good-bye! ... Oh come, let me hug
you. To-morrow well celebrate the big event
with a good drink.''
"I am a little afraid of that to-morrow."
" Courage, my boy! Don't fear, I give you
my word that everything will turn out all right.
I'll tell Jenka all about it immediately. You
will come to us to-morrow for dinner, propose
to her, be accepted by her, in a month you will
be married and we shall be neighbors . . .
hey! I like you immensely, Mr. Andrew! I
always dreamed of having such a son. Unfor-
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4 The Comedienne
tunately I haven't any, but at least I'll have a
son-in-law."
They kissed each other heartily ; the yotinger
jtimped into a light motintain rig waiting near
the platform and drove away at a swift pace
along a narrow road leading through the
wood. He glanced back, tipped his hat, sent
a deeper bow to the windows of the second
story, and disappeared in the shadow of the
trees. After riding a Uttle way, he sprang
from the carriage, ordered the driver to go on,
and continued his journey on foot by a short
cut.
The station-master, as soon as his guest
had vanished from sight, reentered his office
and busied himself with his official correspon-
dence. He was highly satisfied that Grze-
sikiewicz had asked him for his daughter's
hand and he had promised her to him in the
certainty that she would agree.
Grzesikiewicz, although not handsome, was
sensible and very rich. The woods among
which stood the station and a few neighboring
farmhouses were the property of his father.
The elder Grzesikiewicz was primarily a peas-
ant, who had transformed himself from an
innkeeper into a trader and had made a
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The Comedienne 5
fabulous fortune by the sale of timber and
cattle-fodder.
Many people in the neighborhood still re-
membered that the old man used to be called
Grzesik in his youth. They often ridiculed
him for it, but no one upbraided him for chang-
ing his name, for he did not pose as an aristo-
crat, nor did he assume an overbearing air
toward others because of his wealth.
He was a peasant, and in spite of all changes
remained a peasant to the very core. His
son received a thorough education and now
helped his father. Two years ago he had
made the acquaintance of the station-master's
daughter after her return from the academy at
Kielce and had fallen violently in love with
her. His father offered no opposition, but
told him plainly to go ahead and marry if he
wanted.
Andrew met the girl quite often, became
ever more deeply enamored of her, but never
dared to speak to her of his love. She liked
him, but at the same time her attitude was so
frank and straightforward that his intended
words of endearment and confessions of love
always froze upon his lips before he had half
uttered them. He felt that she belonged to a
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6 The Comedienne
higher breed of women, inaccessible to such a
''churl" as he often frankly called himself; but
precisely because of his lowly origin he loved
her all the more intensely.
Finally, he decided to speak to her father
about it.
Orlowsld received him with open arms, and
in his arbitrary way, without consulting his
daughter, at once gave him his word that all
would be well. Grzesikiewicz was therefore
thinking that Janina would not refuse him,
that she must have already spoken of the mat-
ter with her father.
*'Why not!'' he whispered to himself. He
was yotmg, wealthy, and — ^well, he loved her so
dearly. ''In a month our marriage will take
place," he added hurriedly and that thought
filled him with such joy that he began to nm
swiftly through the woods, breaking branches
off the trees, kicking the rotted sttimps that
were in his way, knocking off the heads of
spring mushrooms, whistling and smiling.
And he thought, too, how glad his mother
would be to hear the news.
She was an old peasant woman, who with
the exception of her dress had not changed
in the least on account of her wealth. She
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The Comedienne 7
thought of Janina as of a princess. Her one
dream was to have for a daughter-in-law a real
lady, an aristocrat whose beauty and high
birth would dazzle her, for her husband and
his money and the respect which the entire
neighborhood showed him did not suffice her.
She was always conscious of being a peasant
and received all honors with a true peasant-
like distrust.
'* Andy ! " she often said to her son. ''Andy,
I wish you would marry Miss Orlowska.
That's what I call a real lady! When she
looks at you, she makes you shudder with awe
and wish to fall at her feet and beg some boon
of her. . . . She must be very good for
whenever she meets folks in the woods she
greets them in God's name, chats with them,
and pets the children . . . another would be
incapable of that! Gentle birth will always
out. I sent her a basket of mushrooms and
when she met me she kissed my hand for it.
And she is not lacking in wisdom. Ho! ho!
she knows that I have a prize of a son. Andy,
marry her. Hurry, and make hay while the
sun shines!"
Andrew would usually laugh at his mother's
prattle, kiss her hand, and promise her to
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8 The Comedienne
settle at once everything according to her
wishes.
*'We will have a princess in our house and
seat her in state in the parlor! Don't fear,
Andy, I will not let her soil her hands with
anything. I will wait upon her, serve her,
hand her everything she needs ; all she has to
do is to read French books and play on the
piano, for that is what a lady is for!" his
mother would add.
And he was just as much of a peasant as
she deep within himself; beneath the smooth
veneer of the civilized and educated man
seethed a primitive unbridled energy and the
desire for a wife — a woman to rule him. This
young Hercules, who, when he felt like it,
could fling tmaided into the wagon two-hun-
dred pound sacks of wheat, and who often had
to toil like a common laborer to quell with
weariness the riotous tides that often rose in
his healthy blood, tmexhausted through doz-
ens of generations — dreamed of Janina and
was vanquished by her beauty and sweetness.
He now rushed along through the woods
like a whirlwind and then flew across the
fields, all green with the first vigorous shoots of
the spring wheat, to tell his mother of the
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The Comedienne 9
happiness awaiting him. He knew that he
wotild find her in her favorite room whose
walls were adorned with three rows of holy
pictures in gilt frames — for that was the only
luxury that she allowed herself.
The station-master, in the meanwhile, fin-
ished writing his official report, signed it, made
an entry in his journal, placed it in an envelope,
addressed it to *'the Expeditor of the Station
of Bukowiec," and called: "Anthony!"
A servant appeared at the door.
''Take this to the dispatcher!" ordered
Orlowski.
The servant took the letter without a word
and with the solemnest mien in the world laid
it upon a table on the other side of the window.
The station-master arose, stretched himself,
took off his red cap, and walked over to that
table; then he put on an ordinary cap with a
red border and with the greatest gravity
opened the letter that he had written a mo-
ment ago. He read it, wrote on the other side
a few lines in reply, again signing his name,
and then addressed it to the ''Local Station-
Master " and had Anthony deliver it to himself.
All the officials of the railway knew his
mania and made merry at his expense. There
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lo The Comedienne
was no expeditor in Bukowiec, hence he per-
formed both functions, — that of station-master
and dispatcher — ^but at two different tables.
As the station-master he was his own supe-
rior, so he often had moments of truly insane
joy when, noticing some error in his accotmts,
or some omission in his duty as a dispatcher,
he would indite a complaint against himself.
Everybody made ftm of him, but he paid no
attention and persisted in following his own
way, saying in justification: ''Order and sys-
tem are the fotmdations of everything; if they
are lacking, all else fails!"
Having finished his tasks, he locked all the
drawers of his desk, glanced out on the plat-
form, and went to his home. He entered not
by way of the anteroom, but through the
kitchen, for he had to know all that was go-
ing on. He peeped into the stove, gave the
fire a jab with the poker, scolded the servant-
girl because of some water spilled on the floor,
and then proceeded to the dining-room.
''Where is Jenka?" he asked.
"Miss Janina will be here in a minute,"
answered Mrs. Krenska, a sort of housekeeper
and duenna in one person, a pretty blonde
with expressive features.
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The Comedienne n
*'What are you preparing for dinner?"
"The Director's favorite dish; chicken
fricassee, sorrel soup, and cutlets "
''Extravagance! By God, what extrava-
gance! Soup and one kind of meat is enough
even for a king ! You will ruin me ! ' '
''But Mr. Director ... I ordered this
meal prepared especially for you, sir "
"Bosh! You women have nothing in your
heads but fricassees, sweets, and dainties.
All that is bosh!"
"You judge us tmf airly, sir; we generally
economize more than men do."
"Aha! You economize so that you can
later buy yourselves more fineries ... I
know, you needn't tell me."
Mrs. Krenska did not answer, but began to
set the table for dinner.
Just then, Janina entered. She was a girl
of about twenty-two, tall, well-formed, and
broad-shouldered. Her features were not
very regular; she had black eyes, a straight
forehead, a trifle too broad, dark eyebrows
strongly accented, a Roman nose, and full
glowing lips. Her eyes had a deep expression
indicating an introspective nature; her lips
were tightly drawn together in what seemed to
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12 The Comedienne
be a semblance of dignity or hidden temper.
Two deep lines clouded her clear forehead.
Gorgeotis, wavy blonde hair, with a reddish
tinge, crowned her small rotmd head. Her
amber-gold complexion had the mellowness of
a ripe peach. There was something strange
about her voice: an alto that at times dropped
into a deep baritone of almost masculine
accents.
She bowed her head to her father and seated
herself on the opposite side of the table.
• "Grzesikiewicz was here to see me to-day/'
said Orlowski slowly serving the soup, for he
always presided over the meals.
Janina glanced at him calmly.
''He asked me for your hand, Jenka."
"What did you tell him, Mr. Director?"
qiuckly interposed Mrs. Krenska.
"That is our affair,'' he answered sternly.
"Our affair . . . I told him all would be well,"
he said, turning to Janina. "He will be here
to-morrow for dinner and you can talk it over
between yourselves."
"What's the use, father! Since you have,
told him that all would be well, you can
receive him yourself to-morrow and tell him
from me that everything is far from well. . . .
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The Comedienne 13
I do not wish to speak with him. To-morrow
I will go to Kielce!"
''Bosh! If you were not a crazy fool, you
would understand what an excellent husband
he would make for you! Even though
Grzesikiewicz is a peasant he's worth more to
you than a prince, for he wants you . . . and
he wants you because he's a fool. He could
afford to take his pick of the best. . . . You
ought to be grateful to him for choosing
you. He will propose to you to-morrow and
in a month from now you will be Mrs.
Grzesikiewicz."
''1 will not be his wife! If he can get
another, let him do so "
''I swear to God that you will be Mrs.
Grzesikiewicz!"
''No! I will not have him or anyone else!
I will not marry!"
"Fool!" he retorted brutally. "You will
marry because you need a roof over your
head, food and dress, and someone to look
after you. ... I don't intend to ruin myself
completely for your sake . . . and when I am
gone, what then?"
" I have my dower; I will get along without
the aid of Grzesikiewicz or anyone like him.
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14 The Comedienne
Aha, so your object in wanting to marry me
is simply to provide for my support!" She
regarded him defiantly.
*' And what of it? For what else do women
marry?"
''They marry for love and marry those
whom they love."
''You're a fool, I tell you once again," he
shouted vehemently, helping himself to an-
other portion of chicken. " Love is nothing
but this sauce, you can eat the chicken just
as well without it; sauce is nothing but an
invention, a freak and a modem fad! "
"No self-respecting woman sells herself
to the first man that comes along merely
because he is capable of supporting her ! "
"You're a fool. They all do it, they all sell
themselves. Love is childish prattle and
nonsense. Don't irritate me."
"It is not a question of irritating you,
father, or whether love is nonsense or not; it is
a question of my future which you dispose of
as though it belonged to you. Already at the
time that Zielenkiewicz proposed to me. I
told you that I do not intend to marry at all."
"Zielenkiewicz is merely Zielenkiewicz, but
Grzesikiewicz is a very lord, and what I call
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The Comedienne 15
a man! He is kind-hearted, wise — tcr did he
not graduate from the academy at Dublany —
and as strong as a bull. A fellow who can
master the wildest horse and who, when he
struck a peasant in the face the other day,
knocked out six of his teeth with one blow —
such a fellow is not good enoxigh for jrou! I
swear he is ideal, the highest of all ideals!'*
"Yes, your ideal is an incomparable one;
he*d make a good prize-fighter/'
" You are as crazy as your mother was. Wait !
Andrew will muzzle you and show you how such
women are ruled. He will not spare the whip. ' '
Janina violently shoved aside her chair,
threw her spoon on the table, and left the room,
slamming the door after her.
"Don't sit there gaping, but order the
cutlets served for me," he shouted at Mrs.
Krenska, who gazed after Janina with a
sympathetic look.
She handed him the dish with a servile mien,
whispering to him with a solicitous tone in her
voice, "Mr. Director, you must not irritate
yourself so, it is not good for your health."
"Such is my fate!" he drawled. "I can't
even eat in peace, without having to listen to
these everlasting squabbles."
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i6 The Comedienne
He then began to air at length his griev-
ances and complaints over Janina's stub-
bornness, her wilful character, and his continual
troubles with her.
Mrs. Krenska obsequiously pretended to
agree with him, and occasionally emphasized
some detail. She complained discreetly that
she also had to bear a great deal because of
Janina, sighed deeply, and wheedled him at
every opporttmity. She brought in the coffee
and arrack and poured it for him herself.
While doing so she fawned upon him, touched
his hands and arms, as though accidentally,
lowered her eyes, and kept up a continual
flirtation, trying to awaken some spark in
him.
Orlowski's anger slowly abated, and having
drunk his coffee, he ejaculated, ''Thank you!
I swear to God that you alone understand
me. . . . You are a kind woman, Mrs.
Krenska."
''Mr. Director, if I could only show you
what I feel, what — " she faltered, dropping
her eyes.
Orlowski pressed her hand and went to his
own room for a nap.
Mrs. Krenska ordered the table cleared and
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The Comedienne 17
afterwards, when she was alone, took up some
sewing and sat near the window facing the
station platform. Occasionally she would
look up from her work and gaze at the woods,
or at the long line of rails, but everything
seemed deserted and silent. Finally, unable
to sit still any longer, she arose and b^an to
pace around the table with a soft, feline step,
smiling and repeating to herself :" I will get him,
I will get him! At last I will find a Uttle rest in
my life, my wanderings will come to an end!"
Scenes from the past floated before her
memory: whole years of wandering with a
company of provincial actors. Krenska had
abandoned the theater because she managed
to catch a yoimg fellow who married her. She
lived with him for two whole years . . . two
years which she recalled with bitterness. Her
husband was insanely jealous and frequently
beat her.
At last he died and she was free, but she had
no longer any desire to return to the theater.
She shuddered at the thought of restmiing
that eternal pilgrimage from town to town and
the everlasting poverty of a provincial actor's
life. Moreover, she realized that she was
growing old and homely. So she sold all her
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1 8 The Comedienne
household f timishings, received a pension from
the management to which her husband had
belonged, and for half a year played the r61e of
a widow. She was very eager to marry a
second time and sedulously spread her nets,
but all in vain, for her own temperament stood
in the way. With money in her pocket, there
awakened in her again the former actress with
her careless and sporty disposition and craving
for pleasure and enjo5mient. Being still se-
ductive, she was surrounded by a swarm of
various admirers with whom she squandered
all she had, together with the reputation which
she had succeeded in establishing for herself
with the aid of her husband.
Krenska had no abilities of any kind, but
she possessed a great deal of cleverness, so,
instead of resigning herself to despair when
the last of her admirers had forsaken her, she
inserted an advertisement in the Kielce Gazette
reading: '* Middle-aged widow of a government
official desires position as a housekeeper to
widower, or as a social secretary."
She did not have to wait long for results.
Her advertisement was answered in person by
Orlowski, who was badly in need of a house-
keeper, for Janina was still attending school
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The Comedienne 19
and he could not himself manage the servants.
Krenska seemed so quiet, himible, and full of
grief over the loss of her husband that he did
not ask her any questions, but engaged her
immediately.
Orlowski was a widower who possessed a
good salary, a few thousand dollars in cash,
and an only daughter — an absent daughter
whom he detested. Krenska at first tried to
turn the heads of the station officials, but very
soon sized up the situation and immediately
began playing a new r61e whereby she per-
severingly strove to attain the last act:
Matrimony.
Orlowski became used to her. She knew
how to make herself indispensable and always
to show that indispensability so skillfully that
it did not offend.
Moreover, the gray auttmm days and the
long wintry evenings brought her nearer to her
goal, for Orlowski, who was fifty-eight years
old and had rhetimatism, was always a maniac,
but during his rhetimatic attacks he would
become a raving maniac. She alone knew
how to mollify and manage him with her
inherent cleverness, sharpened by many years
of theatrical experience.
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20 The Comedienne
There was only one obstacle in her way —
Janina. Krenska realized that as long as
Janina was at home she could accompUsh
nothing. She decided to wait — and waited
patiently.
Orlowski loved his daughter with hatred,
that is, he loved her because he hated her.
He hated her because she was the daughter of
his wife, whose memory he violently cursed —
his wife, who after two years of conjugal life,
left him, because she could no longer endure
his tyranny and eccentricities. He brought
legal action against her and tried to force her
to return to him, but their separation became
a permanent one. He raved with anger, but
his relentlessness, unexampled stubbornness,
and insane pride prevented him from begging
his wife to return, which she might have done,
for she was a good woman. Her only failing
was an illness that baified all the provincial
doctors. She had the soul of a mimosa, so
sensitive that every tear, pain, or grief would
cast her into despair. Moreover she had an
abnormal fear of thunderstorms, showers,
frogs, dark rooms, unlucky ntimbers, and all
loud soimds; so this husband of hers was
killing her with his brutality.
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The Comedienne 21
Within a few years after their separation
she died of nervous prostration, leaving Janina,
whQ was then ten years old. Orlbwski
innnediatdy took her away from his wife's
family by force.
An additional reason for his hatred of
Janina was because she happened to be a girl.
With his wild and violent disposition he
wanted a son on whom he could exercise not
only his fists, but also his everyday humor.
He had dreamed of a son and fancied that
he would be a big and half-wild fellow, ener-
getic and as strong as an oak.
He immediately sent Janina to a boarding-
school, seeing her only once a year during
her vacation. She spent the Christmas and
Easter holidays at her aimt's home.
For these vacations, which were now in
their third year, he would wait impatiently,
for he was weary of being alone at his remote
station. And as soon as Janina arrived
hostilities between them would begin.
Janina grew up rapidly, and her mental and
physical development were of the best, but
having been conceived, bom, and reared in an
environment of continual hatred and quarrels
and nursed with the tears and complaints of
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22 The Comedienne
her mother at her father's brutality, she natu-
rally disliked him and feared his scorn. This
developed in her secretiveness and resent-
ment. She rebelled against his despotism and
niggardliness.
Janina inherited a few thousand rubles
from her mother, and her father told her
plainly that the interest on that sum would
have to suffice her, for he did not intend to
give her a single kopeck. She attended a
first-class boarding-school, but after paying
her fees and, later, her expenses at the academy
she had so little left for her immediate needs
that she had to continually think of how to
make ends meet and to feel ashamed because
of her worn shoes and dresses.
In a few years her classmates began to fear
her, even the teachers often gave way to her,
for she had her father's violent character and
brooked no restraint. She never wept nor
complained, but she was ever ready to avenge
her wrongs with her fists, irrespective of what
might happen to her. At the same time she
was always one of the brightest scholars in her
class.
All sincerely disliked her, but had to grant
her supremacy. She herself became conscious
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The Comedienne 23
of her superiority over the throng of her class-
mates, who treated her with aloofness, laughed
at her shabby dresses and shoes, and barred
her from all intimacy with them. Later she
paid them back with tmrelenting vengeance.
There were times when Orlowski was proud
of Janina and warmly defended her before
his friends, for the whole neighborhood was
shocked at her tomboyish adventures. She
would tramp through the woods late at night
and in all kinds of weather, alone, like a young
wild-boar separated from the herd. She was
not a bit ashamed of climbing up trees for
birds' nests, nor of riding astride in horse-
races with the peasant lads on the pasturage.
To avoid her father she would stay away
from home for whole days at a time, dreaming
of her return to school, while at school she
would again dream of returning to the solitude
of her home.
Such was Janina up to about the eighteenth
year of her life when she graduated from high
school and returned home for good. In her
outward life she quieted down, but inwardly
she became even more restless than before.
With her friend, Helen Walder, ideally
beautiful and day dreaming of the emanci-
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24 The Comedienne
pation of woman, she had parted. Helen
went to Paris to study science. Janina had
no desire to go, for she didn't feel the need of
any knowledge of an abstract nature. She
yearned for something that would exert a more
potent influence upon her temperament —
something that would absorb her whole being
for all time.
Men, Janina avoided almost entirely, for
they angered her with their impudence; the
women bored her with their everlasting repe-
tition of gossip, troubles, and intrigues. People
in general seemed to keep aloof from her.
All sorts of stories about her, more or less false,
were circulated in the neighborhood.
She was a puzzle to all who knew her.
Meanwhile, in her own soul she was waging a
battle with her desires, to which she knew not
how to give a definite form. She asked her-
self why she lived. She buried herself in
books, but found no comfort th6re. She
felt that she must find something that would
absorb and thrill her entire being, felt that she
would find it sooner or later, but in the mean-
while the agony of waiting almost drove her
mad.
Zielenkiewicz, the owner of a heavily mort-
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The Comedienne 25
gaged village, proposed to her. Janina laughed
outright at him and told him to his face that
she did not intend to pay his debts with her
dower.
She had reached her twenty-first year and
was beginning to lose patience, when a com-
monplace occurrence decided her whole future.
In a nearby town an amateur theatrical was
being arranged. Three one-act plays were
selected and the parts had already been
assigned, when there came a hitch: no one
wanted to accept the r61e of Pawlowa in Bli-
zinski's The March Bachelor.
The dramatic coach insisted on presenting
this play, for he wanted to twit a certain
neighbor with it, but none of the ladies would
play the parts of Pawlowa or Eulalia.
Someone proposed that they request Janina
Orlowska to take the part of Pawlowa, for they
knew that she dared anjrthing. She accepted
it rather indifferently, and Mrs. Krenska, in
whom memories of her histrionic past had
suddenly awakened, induced Orlowski to an-
nounce that an amateur had also been found
for the part of Eulalia.
The rehearsals lasted for about three months,
for the cast of the players was changed several
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26 The Comedienne
times — the usual fuss and confusion of pro-
vincial theaters where none of the ladies want
to assume the part of an old, quarrelsome, or
shady character, or that of a maid, but all wish
to be heroines.
Krenska, whom Janina kept at a respectful
distance from herself, never confiding any-
thing to her nor asking her advice, found a
good reason in the play for approaching her.
She began to give her lessons in the art of
acting, untiringly.
So absorbed did she become with her part,
so deeply did she enter into the character, and
so well did it fit her that she gave a very
creditable presentation. She was every inch
a peasant woman, a genuine Pawlowa, and
received a clamorous ovation at the end of the
play. This momentary triumph and the
consciousness of her power filled her with a
wild and unrestrained joy. It was with a
feeling of intense regret that she saw the final
curtain fall.
Krenska also created quite a furore. It
was a r61e that she had often played with
great success on the real stage. During the
intermissions everyone was speaking only of
her and of Janina.
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The Comedienne 27
''A comedienne! A bom actress!" whis-
pered the ladies, regarding Janina with a sort
of contemptuous pity.
Orlowski, whom they thanked and con-
gratulated for having so talented a daughter
and companion, shrugged his shoulders. He
was, however, satisfied, for he went behind the
scenes, petted Janina, and kissed Krenska's
hand.
''Good, good! . . . Nothing extraordi-
nary, but at least I don't have to feel ashamed
of you," was all the praise that he gave them.
After the performance Janina drew closer to
Krenska and the latter, in a moment of weak-
ness, betrayed the secret concerning her past
life. She revealed to Janina a new realm,
wondrous and alluring.
She listened with rapt attention to Kren-
ska's accoimts of the stage, her numerous
appearances and triumphs, and the vivid life
of an actor. As she related her experiences
Krenska was herself carried away by enthusi-
asm and painted them in glowing colors; she
no longer remembered the miseries of that life
and held up only the brightest pictures to the
gaze of the enraptured girl. She pulled out of
her tnmk faded and musty copies of r61es she
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28 The Comedienne
had once impersonated, read them to Janina
and played them, stirred by memories of the
past.
All this fascinated the girl and awoke in her
certain strong desires, but it did not, as yet,
absorb her; it was not, as yet, that mysterious
''something" for which she had been waiting
so long.
She began to read with great interest the
theatrical criticisms and the details about
actors in the newspapers. Finally, whether
actuated by ennui or by an instinctive impulse,
she bought a complete set of Shakespeare's
works and, forthwith, was lost! She found
that ''something" for which she had sought
so long; she found her hero, her aim, her ideal
— it was the theater. She devoured Shake-
speare with all the inherent intensity of her
nature.
It would be difficult to epitomize the violent
upheaval that now took place in Janina's soul,
the wild soaring of her imagination, and the
enlargement and expansion of her whole being.
There swarmed about her a vast throng of
characters — evil, noble, base, petty, heroic,
and struggling souls. There passed through
her such tones and words, such overwhelming
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The Comedienne 29
thoughts and emotions that she felt as though
the whole universe was contained in her soul!
She became consimied with a desire for the
theater and for unusual emotions. The win-
ters seemed too warm for her, the snowfalls too
light; the springs dragged along too slowly,
the summers were too cool, the auttimns too
dry; all this she visioned in her imagination in
far grander outlines. She wished to see the
acme of beauty, the acme of evil, and every act
magnified to titanic proportions.
Orlowski knew a little about her ''disease,"
but he smiled at it in scorn.
"You comedienne ! '' he called her, scoffingly.
Krenska would add fuel to this fire, for she
wished at any cost to see Janina leave home.
She persuaded her of her talent and warmly
praised the theatrical career.
Janina could not pluck up courage to take
the decisive step. She feared those dark and
vague presentiments and an tmaccotmtable
feeling of terror at times would seize upon her.
She could not stimmon the necessary deter-
ndnation. A storm of some kind only could
uproot her and carry her far away from home
in the same way as it uprooted the trees and
scattered them over the desolate fields. She
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30 The Comedienne
was waiting now for some chance happening
to cast her into the world. Krenska, in the
meanwhile, kept her informed of the activities
of the provincial theatrical companies. Janina
made certain preparations and savings. Her
father paid her regtilariy the interest on her
inheritance and this enabled her in a year's
time to lay aside about two himdred rubles.
Grzesikiewicz's proposal and her father's
insistance on her marriage roused a stormy
protest in her.
''No, no, no! " she repeated to herself, pacing
excitedly up and down her room. ''I will not
marry!"
Janina had never contemplated matrimony
seriously. At times the vision of a great,
overwhelming love would gleam through her
mind, and she would dream of it for a while;
but of marriage she had never given a thought.
She even liked Grzesikiewicz, because he
would never speak lightly to her about love,
nor enact those amorous comedies to which
other admirers had accustomed her. She
liked him for the simplicity with which he
would relate all that he had to suffer at school,
how he was abused and humiliated as the son
of a peasant and innkeeper and how he paid
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The Comedienne 31
them back in peasant fashion — ^with his fists.
He would smile while relating this to her,
but there was in his smile a trace of sorrow.
She opened the door of her father's room
and was about to tell him abruptly and de-
cisively that there was no need of Grze-
sikiewicz's coming, but Orlowski was already
enjoying his after-dinner nap, seated in a big
arm-chair with his feet propped against the
window-sill. The sun was shining straight
into his face which was almost entirely bronzed
from simbtim.
Janina withdrew.
*'No, no, no! . . . Even though I have to
run away from home, I will not marry!"
she repeated to herself fiercely.
But immediately there followed this deter-
mination a feeling of womanly helplessness.
"I will go to my tmcle's house. . . . Yes!
. . . and from there I will go to the stage.
No one can force me to stay here."
Thereupon, the blood would rush to her
head with indignation and she would immedi-
ately gaze with courage into the future,
determined to meet anything that might
happen rather than submit.
She heard her father arise and then go to the
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3^ The Comedienne
window; she listened to the station bells, and
to the jabbering of a few Jews who were board-
ing the train ; she saw the red cap of her father,
and the yellow striped cap of the telegrapher
conversing through his window with some
lady; she saw and heard all, but understood
nothing, so absorbed was she in thought.
Krenska entered and in her habitual way
began to circle around the table with quiet,
cat-like motion before she spoke. Her face
bore an expression of sympathy and there was
tenderness in her voice.
"Miss Janina!"
The young woman glanced at her.
"No! I assure you that I will not!" she
said with emphasis.
"Your father gave Grzesikiewicz his word
of honor ... he will demand unquestioning
obedience . . . what will come of it?"
"No! I will not marry! . . . My father
can retract his word; he cannot compel
me
"Yes . . . but there will be an awful rum-
pus, an awful rumpus!"
"I have stood so many, I can stand some
more."
"I am afraid that this one will not end so
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The Comedienne 33
smoothly. Yotir father has such a dreadful
temper. ... I can't tmderstand how you are
able to bear as much as you do. ... If I were
in your place, Miss Janina, I know what I
should do . . . and do it now, immediately!"
"I am anxious to know . . . give me your
advice."
''First of all, I would leave home to avoid all
this trouble before it begins. I would go to
Warsaw."
*'Well, and what would you do next?"
asked Janina with trembling voice.
"I would join some theater and let happen
what will!"
"Yes, that's a good idea, but . . . but "
And she broke off, for the old helplessness
and fears reasserted themselves. She sat
silent without answering Krenska.
Janina put on a jacket and felt hat and tak-
ing a stick wandered off into the woods.
She climbed to the top of that rocky hill
from which spread out below her a wide view
of the woods, the villages beyond them, and
an endless expanse of fields. She sat gazing
about her for a while, but the calm that
reigned all arotmd, contrasted with the feeling
of imquiet and foreboding in her own soul, as
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34 The Comedienne
before an impending storm, gave her no
peace.
At dusk Janina rettimed home. She did
not speak either to her father or to Krenska
but immediately after supper went to her own
room and sat reading George Sand's Consuelo
ujitil a late hour.
During the night she was perturbed with
ujiquiet dreams from which she started up
every now and then, perspiring heavily, and
awoke fully before dawn, tmable to sleep any
longer. She lay upon her bed with wide open
GyeSf gazing fixedly at the ceiling on which
flickered a patch of light reflected from the
station lamp. A train went roaring by and
she listened for a long while to its rhythmic
rumbling and clatter that seemed like a whole
choir of voices and tones streaming in through
her window.
At the farther end of the room, steeped in a
twilight full of pale gleams that flickered like
severed rays from a light long since extin-
guished, she seemed to see apparitions and
vague outlines of mysterious scenes, figures,
and sotmds. Her wearied brain peopled the
room with the phantoms of hallucination.
She beheld, as it were, a vast edifice with a
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The Comedienne 35
long row of columns that seemed to emerge
from the dusk and take shape.
In the morning she arose so worn out that
she could scarcely stand on her feet.
She heard her father issuing orders for a
sumptuous dinner and saw them making
preparations. Krenska circled about her on
tiptoe and smiled at her with a subtle, ironi-
cal smile that irritated Janina. She felt
dazed with exhaustion and the storm that was
brewing within her, and beheld everything
with indifference, for her mind was continually
dwelling on the impending battle with her
father. She tried to read or occupy herself
with something, but was too nervous.
She ran off to the woods, but immediately
came back, for she knew not what to do there.
A lethargy seemed to take hold of her and
benumb her with an ever greater fear. Try as
she would, Janina could not shake off this de-
pressing mood.
She sat down at the piano and began
mechanically to play scales, but the somnolent
monotony of the tones only added to her
nervousness. Later she played some of Cho-
pin's Nocturnes, lingered over those mysterious
tones that seemed like strains from another
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36 The Comedienne .
world, full of tears, pain, cries of anguish, and
bleak despair; the radiance of cold moonlight
nights, moans like the whisper of departing
souls, the laughter of parting, the soft vibra-
tions of subtle, sad life.
Suddenly, Janina stopped playing and btirst
into tears. She wept for a long time, not
knowing why she wept — she who since her
mother's death had not shed a single tear.
For the first time in her life — ^which up till
now had been one continuous struggle, revolt,
and protest — she felt overcome by distress.
There awakened in her an irresistible longing
to share her sorrows with someone, a longing
to confide to some sympathetic heart those
bewildered thoughts and feelings, that im-
explainable misery and fear. She yearned
for sympathy, feeling that her distress would
be smaller, her anguish less violent, her tears
not so bitter, if she could open her heart before
some sincere woman friend.
Krenska summoned her to dinner, annotmc-
ing that Grzesikiewicz was already waiting.
She wiped away the traces of tears from her
eyes, arranged her hair — and went.
Grzesikiewicz kissed her hand and seated
himself beside her at the table.
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The Comedienne 37
Orlowski was in a holiday humor and every
now and then twitted Janina and hurled tri-
umphant glances at her.
Grzesikiewicz was silent and imeasy; oc-
casionally he would speak, but in such a
low tone, Janina could scarcely hear what he*
said. Mrs. Krenska was plainly excited.
A gloomy atmosphere htmg over them all.
The dinner dragged wearily on. Orlowski at
times became wrapt in thought, and would
then knit his brows, angrily tug at his
beard, and fling murderous glances at his
daughter.
After dinner they went to the parlor. Black
coffee and cognac were served. Orlowski
quickly gulped down his coffee and left the
room, kissing Janina on the forehead and
growling some imintelligible remark as he
departed.
They remained alone.
Janina kept looking out of the window.
Grzesikiewicz, all flushed and flustered and
imlike himself, began to say something, taking
little swallows of coffee in between, imtil,
finally, he drained it off at the gulp and
shoved his cup and saucer aside so vigor-
ously that they went tumbling over the table.
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38 The Comedienne
She laughed at his violence and embarrass-
ment.
'* At a moment like this a man could swallow
a lamp without noticing it," he remarked.
''That would be quite a feat," she answered,
again bursting into empty laughter.
''Are you laughing at me?" he asked
imeasily.
"No, only the idea of swallowing a lamp
seemed comical."
They relapsed into silence. Janina fidgeted
with the window-shade, while Grzesikiewicz
tore at his gloves and impulsively bit his
moustache; he was literally shaking with
emotion.
"It is so hard for me, so awfully hard!" he
began, raising his eyes to her entreatingly.
"Why?" she queried tersely and evasively.
"Well, because . . . because . . . For
God's sake, I can't stand it any longer! No,
I can't endure this torment any longer, so I'll
t come right out with it : I love you, Miss Janina,
and beg you for your hand," he cried aloud,
at once sighing with immense relief. But
immediately he struck his forehead with his
hand and, taking Janina's hand, began anew:
' ' I have loved you ever so long, but feared to
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The Comedienne 39
tell you. And now I don't know how to
express it as I would like to. . . . I love
you and beg you to be my wife. ..."
He kissed her hand fervently and gazed at
her with his blue, honest eyes burning with
blind love. His lips twitched nervously and
a pallor overspread his features.
Janina arose from her chair and, looking
straight into his eyes, answered slowly and
quietly: ''I do not love you."
All her nervousness had vanished.
Grzesikiewicz recoiled violently, as though
someone had struck him, as though he did not
tmderstand. He said with a trembling voice:
"Miss Janina ... be my wife ... I love
you!"
''I do not love you ... I cannot there-
fore marry you . . . I will not marry at all!"
she answered in the same cold tone, but at the
last word her voice wavered with an accent of
pity for him.
''God!" cried Grzesikiewicz, holding his^
hand to his head. "What does it mean? . . .
You will not marry! . . . You will not be my
wife! . . . You do not love me!"
He threw himself impulsively on his knees
before her, seized her hands, and, covering
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40 The Comedienne
them with kisses, began, with what seemed
ahnost tears of feverish terror, to entreat her
fervently, hiimbly.
''You do not love me? . . . You will love
me in time. I swear that I, my mother, and
my father will be your slaves. I will wait if you
wish . . . Say that in a year, or two, or even
five, you will love me. ... I will wait. . . .
I swear to you that I will wait ! But do not say
no to me ! For God's sake do not say that, for
I shall go mad with despair! How can it be?
You do not love me! . . . But I love you
... we all love you ... we cannot live
without you! . . . no. . . . Your father told
me that . . . that . . . and now . . . God!
I will go crazy! What are you doing to me!
What are you doing to me! "
Springing up from the floor he fairly cried
aloud with pain.
Mechanically he pulled oflf his gloves, tore
them to pieces and flimg them on the floor,
buttoned up his coat to the topmost button,
and struggling to control himself said: ''Fare-
well, Miss Janina. But always . . . every-
where . . . forever ... I will . . ." he
whispered with great effort, bowed his head
and went toward the door.
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The Comedienne 41
"Andrew!" she called after him forcibly.
Grzesikiewicz ttimed back from the door.
"Andrew," she said in a pleading voice, "I
do not love you, but I respect you. ... I
cannot marry you, I cannot . . . but I will
always think of you as of a noble man. Surely
you will imderstand that it would be a base
thing for me to marry a man whom I do not
love ... I know that you detest falsehood
and hypocrisy— and so do I. Forgive me for
hurting you, but I also suffer ... I also am
not happy — oh no!"
"Janina — ^if you would only ... if you
would only ..."
She regarded him with such a sorrowful
expression that he became silent. Then slowly
he left the room.
Janina still sat there dazed, staring at the
door through which he had gone, when Orlow-
ski entered the room.
He had met Grzesikiewicz on the stairs and
in his face had read what had happened.
Janina uttered a little cry of fear, so great a
change had come over him. His face was
ashen-gray, his eyes seemed to bulge from their
sockets, his head swayed violently from side
to side.
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42 The Comedienne
He seated himself near the table and with a
quiet, smothered voice asked, "What did you
tell Grzesikiewicz?"
*'What I told you yesterday; that I do not
love him and will not marry him!" she an-
swered boldly, but she was startled at the
seeming calm with which her father spoke.
''Why?" he queried sharply, as though he
did not tmderstand her.
*' I told him that I do not love him and do
not wish to marry at all. . . . "
''You are a fool! . . . a fool! . . . a fool!"
he hissed at her through his tightly set teeth.
She regarded him calmly and all her old
obstinacy rettimed.
" I said that you would marry him. I gave
my word that you would marry him, and you
will marry him ! ' '
"I will not! ... no one is able to force
me!" she answered sullenly, looking with
steady gaze into her father's eyes.
" I will drag you to the altar. I will compel
you! . . . You must! ..." he cried hoarsely .
"No!"
"You will marry Grzesikiewicz, I tell you;
I, your father, command you to do so! You
will obey me immediately, or I will kill you!"
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The Comedienne 43
"Very well, kill me, if you want to, but I'll
not obey you!"
*'I will drive you out of this house!" he
shouted.
''Very well!"
''I will disown you!"
' ' Very well ! ' ' she answered with growing de-
termination. Janina felt that with each word
her heart was hardening with greater resolve.
''1*11 drive you out . . . do you hear? . . .
and even though you die of htmger, I never
want to hear of you again!"
"Very well!"
''Janina! I warn you, don't drive me to
extremity. I beg you marry Grzesikiewicz,
my daughter, my child! . . . Isn't it for your
good? You have no one but me in the world
and I am old ... I will die . . . and you will
remain alone without protection or support.
. . . Janina, you have never loved me! . . .
If you knew how tmhappy I have been through-
out my life, you would take pity on me! "
"No! . . . Never! ..." she answered,
unmoved even by his pleading.
"I ask you for the last time!" he shouted.
"For the last time I tell you no!" she fltmg
back at him.
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44 The Comedienne
Orlowski htirled his chair to the floor with
such force that it was shattered to pieces. He
tore open the collar of his shirt, so violent
was the paroxysm of ftiry that had seized him,
and with the broken arm of the chair in his
hand, he sprang at Janina to strike her, but
the cold, almost scornful, expression of her face
brought him to his senses.
''Get out of here!" he roared, pointing to
the door, "get out! . . . Do you hear? I
turn you out of my home forever! . . . You
will never again pass this threshold while I
live, for I will kill you like a mad dog and
throw you out of the door! ... I have no
longer any daughter!"
''Very well, I will go ..." she answered
mechanically.
"I no longer have any daughter! Hence-
forth I don't want to know you or hear any-
thing of you! ... Go and perish ... I
will kill you! ..." he shouted, rushing up
and down the room like a madman.
His insane violence now burst out in full
force. He rushed out of the house and from
the window Janina saw him nmning toward
the woods.
She sat silent, dumb, and as though turned
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The Comedienne 45
to ice. She had expected everything, but
never this. She burned with resentment but
not a single tear clouded her eye. She gazed
about her distractedly, for that hoarse cry
still rang in her ears: "Get out of here! . . .
get out!"
"I will go, I will go . . ." she whispered
in a humble and broken voice through the
tears that filled her heart, "I will go. . . ."
"God, my God! why am I so tmhappy?"
she cried after a while.
Kxenska, who had heard all, approached
her. With feigned tears in her eyes she began
to comfort her, but Janina gently pushed her
away. It was not that which she needed; not
that kind of comforting.
" My father has driven me out . . . I must
leave ..." she said, marveling at her own
words.
"But that is preposterous! . . . Surely
yotir father can be placated. ..."
"No ... I will not stay here any longer. I
have enough of this torment . . . enough. ..."
"Are you going to your atmt's house?"
Janina was simk in thought for a moment,
but suddenly her gloomy face brightened with
a flash of determination.
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46 The Comedienne
** I will go and join the theater. The die is
cast! . . ."
Krenska glanced at her sharply.
''Come, help me pack my trunk. I will
leave on the next train."
''The next passenger train does not go to
Kielce."
"It doesn't matter. I will go to Strzemi-
eszyce, and from there, by the Viennese line to
Warsaw. ..."
"IfIwereyou,Janina, I'd think it over. . . .
Later you may regret it. ... "
"What's done can't be tuidone! ..."
And without paying any further attention to
Krenska's remarks, Janina began to pack.
Her lingerie, her dresses, her books and notes,
and various trifles she carefully folded away
into her school-day tnmk, as though she were
returning from her vacation.
At the end she bade farewell to Kxenska
indifferently. Outwardly she appeared calm
and cool, while a slight tremor of her lips
alone, and an inner tremor that she cotild not
still, were the only traces of the storm.
She ordered her things carried downstairs,
and, having still an hour's time, she went to
the woods.
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The Comedienne 47
in
'Forever ..." she said in a subdued tone,
as though addressing the trees that seemed
to bend toward her with a mournftil murmur
and rustling of their leaves.
"Forever! ..." she whispered, gazing at
the crimson gleams of the setting sim that
filtered through the tangled branches of the
beeches and shone upon the groimd.
The woods seemed wrapt m a great silence,
as though they were listening to her words of
final farewell and dumbly wondering how one
who had been bom and reared in their midst,
who had lived with their life, who had dreamed
so many dreams in their embracing silence,
could bid farewell.
The trees murmured mournfully. A sigh
like a song of farewell and a sad reproach
echoed through the wood. The ferns stirred
with a gentle motion, the yoimg hazel leaves
fluttered restlessly, the pines rustled softly
with their slender needles — the whole wood
trembled and became alive with a prolonged
moan. The song of the birds soimded in
broken, startled little snatches, while over the
sky, and over the earth carpeted with leaves
and golden mosses and snowy valley-lilies,
and through the whole verdant wood there
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48 The Comedienne
flitted mysterious shadows, sounds and calls
like the echo of sorrowful sobbing.
"Stay with me! . . . Stay!" the wood
seemed to say.
The torrent roared noisily, swept away the
broken boughs that impeded its course, circled
and descended in a cloud of foam, a cascade
of mist shining in the sim with all the col-
ors of the rainbow; it went irresistibly on-
ward, triumphantly, whispering: "Go! . . .
Go!"
Then there followed a great silence, broken
only by the himi of insects and the dull clatter
of falling acorns.
"Forever! . . ." whispered Janina.
She arose and started back toward the
station. She walked slowly, looking about her
with fond, lingering gaze upon the trees, the
woodpaths, and the hillsides.
Then she began to think of the new exist-
ence before her. There slowly arose in her
sotil a certain self-conscious power and increas-
ing courage.
When she spied her father on the station
platform, not so much as a tremor disturbed
her. Already there loomed between them
that new world which already lured her.
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The Comedienne 49
She even went to the station-master's office
for a ticket. She stood before the window and
asked for it in a loud voice. Orlowski (for he
sold the tickets himself) raised his head with a
violent start and something like a red shadow
passed over his face, but he did not utter a
word. He calmly handed her her change and
stared at her coldly, stroking his beard.
On leaving, she turned her head and met
his burning gaze. He started violently back
from the window and swore aloud, while she
went on, only somehow she went more slowly
and her legs trembled imder her. That gleam
of his eyes, as though bloody with tears,
struck deep into her heart.
The train arrived and she got on. From the
window of the car she still kept gazing at the
station. Krenska waved to her with a hand-
kerchief from the house and pretended she
was wiping away tears.
Orlowski, in a red cap and immaculately
white gloves, paced up and down the platform
with a stiff official air and did not glance even
once in her direction.
The bell rang and the train ptilled out.
The telegrapher was bowing his farewell to
her, but she did not see him; she saw only how
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50 The Comedienne
her father slowly turned about and entered
the office.
"Forever! . . ." she whispered.
Orlowski came in for supper at the usual
hour.
" Krenska, in spite of her joy at Janina's
departiu*e, was uneasy; she glanced into his
eyes with a feeling of fear, walked about even
more silently than usual, and was himibler
and smaller than ever before.
Orlowski seemed to be wrestling with him-
self, for he did not btu*st forth in ciu*ses and did
not even mention Janina.
On the following day only he locked Janina's
room and put the key away in his desk.
He did not sleep that night; his eyes wqre
stinken and his face deathly pale. Krenska
heard him walking up and down his room all
night, but on the following day he was at work
as usual.
At dinner Krenska plucked up courage to
speak to him about something.
''Aha . . . I have still to settle with you!"
he said.
Krenska grew pale. She began to speak to
him about Janina, about her sympathy for her^
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The Comedienne 51
how she had tried to dissuade her from leaving,
how earnestly she had begged her.
"You're a fool!" he hurled at her. "She
left because she wanted to. . . . Let her
break her necdc, if she wants to!"
Krenska began to commiserate his loneliness.
"A cur!" he snarled, spitting beside him
in scorn. "You, madame, can leave to-day.
I will pay you what is due you and then get
out of this house as fast as you can go, or I
swear to God I'll have my workmen throw you
out! If I am to be alone I'll be entirely alone
. . . without any guardians! A cur!"
Banging his glass against the table with such
force that it flew into splinters, he went out.
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CHAPTER II
The little garden theater was beginning to
awaken.
The curtain arose with a creaking sound
and there appeared a barefooted and dis-
heveled boy, clad only in a smock, who began
to sweep the temple of art. The dust floated
out in large clouds on the garden, settling on
the red cloth coverings of the chairs and on
the leaves of a few consumptive chestnut
trees.
The waiters and servants of the restaurant
began to put things to order tuider the large
veranda. One could hear the clatter of washed
glasses, the beating of rugs, the moving of
chairs and the subdued whispers of the buffet-
tender who arranged with a certain unction her
rows of bottles, platters containing sandwiches,
and huge bouquets cL la Makart, resembling
dried brooms. The glaring rays of the sim
peered in at the sides of the garden and a
throng of black sparrows swayed on the
52
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The Comedienne 53
branches and perched on the chairs, clamoring
for crumbs.
The clock over the buffet was slowly and
solemnly striking the hour of ten, when a tall
slim boy rushed in on the veranda; a torn cap
was perched on the top of his touseled red hair,
his freckled face wore a mischievous smile, and
his nose was upturned. He ran straight to
the buffet.
''Be careful, Wicek, or you'll lose your
shoes!" . . . called the barmaid.
''I don't care; I'll get them remodeled!" he
retorted jovially, gazing down at his shoes
which cltmg miraculously to his feet despite the
fact that they were minus both soles and tops.
''Please, miss, let me have a thimbleful of
beer!" he cried bowing ostentatiously.
"Have you the price?" asked the barmaid,
extending her palm.
"This evening, I'll pay you. I give you
my word, I'll pay you for it without fail," he
begged.
The barmaid merely shrugged her shoulders.
"O come on, let me have it, miss. ... I'll
recommend you to the Shah of Persia. . . •
Such a broad dame ought to have quite a pull
with him. . . ."
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54 The Comedienne
The waiters burst out laughing, while the
barmaid banged her metal tray against the
counter.
"Wicek!'' called someone from the en-
trance.
"At your service, Mr. Manager."
"Are they all here for the rehearsal?"
"Oh! They'll all be here without fail!" he
answered, laughing roguishly.
"Did you notify them? . . . Did you go
to them with the circular?"
"Yes, they all signed it."
"Did you take the play-bill to the di-
rector?"
"The director was still behind the scenes:
he was lying in bed and gazing at his toes."
"You shotild have given it to his wife."
"But Mrs. Directress was in the midst of a
tussle with her children; it was a little too
noisy there."
"You will go with this letter to Comely
Street. . . . Do you know where it is?"
"A few times over. 'She's quite a respect-
able dame,' as a certain man in the front row
said of Miss Nicolette the other day. "
"You will take this, wait for an answer, and
come right back."
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The Comedienne 55
*'But Mr. Manager, will I get something
forgoing?"
''Didn't I give you something on account
only last night?"
''Oh . . . only a copper! I spent it for
beer and sardines, paid the balance of my rent,
gave my shoemaker a deposit for a new pair
of shoes, and now Fm dead broke!"
"You're a monkey! Here, take this. . . ."
"Blessed are the hands that dispense forty-
cent pieces!" he cried with a comical grimace,
shuffled his shoes, and ran out.
"Set the stage for the rehearsal!" called
the manager, seating himself on the veranda.
The members of the company assembled
slowly. They greeted each other in silence
and scattered over the garden.
"Dobek," called the stage-manager to a
tall man who was making straight for the
buffet. ' ' You guzzle from mom till night, and
at the rehearsals I cannot hear a word you
say. . . . Your prompting isn't worth a
bean!"
" Mr. Manager, I had a bad dream that ran
something like this: Night ... a well ... I
stumbled and fell into it ... I was frozen
stiff with fear . . . I called for help ... no
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56 The Comedienne
help was near . . . splash! . . . and I was up
to my neck in water. . . . Brr! ... I still
feel so cold that nothing will warm me."
''Oh, hang yotir dreams! You drink from
mom till night."
"That's because I can't drink like others:
from night till mom. Brr! I feel so beastly
chilled!"
'Til order some hot tea for you "
"Thank you, I'm quite well Mr. Topolski,
and use herbs only when I'm sick. Must, the
extracted juice, the constituent of rye, that's
the only stuff that is worthy of the complete
man that I have the honor to consider myself,
Mr. Manager."
The director entered and Dobek went to
the bar.
"Did you assign all the r61es of Nitouche?''
the director asked.
"Not quite," answered Topolski, "those
women ... there are three candidates for
Nitouche."
"Good morning, Mr. Director!" called one
of the pillars of the theater, Majkowska, a
handsome actress dressed in a light gown, a
silken wrap, and a white hat with a big ostrich
feather. She was all rosy from a good night's
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The Comedienne 57
sleep and from an invisible layer of rouge.
She had large, dark-blue eyes, full and car-
mmed lips, classical features, and a proud
bearing. She played the principle r61es.
"Come here a minute, Mr. Director . . .
there is a little matter I wotild like to speak
to you about."
"Always at your service, madame. Per-
haps you need some money?" ventured the
director with a troubled mien.
"For the present . . . no. What will you
have to drink, Mr. Director?"
"Ho! Ho! Somebody's blood is going to
be shed 1 " he cried with a comical gesture.
"I asked what will you drink, Mr. Direc-
tor?"
"Oh, I don't know. I'd take a glass of
cognac, but ..."
"You're afraid of your wife? She soes not
appear in Nitouche, does she?"
"No, but . . ."
"Waiter! Two cognacs and sandwiches.
• . . You will give the r61e of Nitouche to
Nicolette, will you not, Mr. Director? Please
do so, for I have a good reason for asking it.
Remember, Mr. Cabinski, that I never ask for
a thing in vain, and do this for me ..."
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58 The Comedienne
"That's already the fotirth candidate for
the part! . . . God! all that I have to stand
because of these women!"
"Which of them wants this part?"
"Well, Kaczkowska, my wife, Mimi, and
now, Nicolette. ..."
"Waiter! Two more cognacs," she called,
rapping on the tray with her glass. "You
will give the part to Nicolette, Mr. Director.
I know for a certainty that she will not accept
it, for with her wooden voice she cotild dance,
but not sing. But you see, Mr. Director, this
is the very reason for giving it to her."
"Well . . . not to mention my own wife,
Mimi and Kaczkowska will tear off my head
if I do!"
"You'll not lose much by that ! I'll explain
the matter to them. We will have a splendid
farce, for you see that gentleman friend of hers
will be present at to-day's rehearsal. Yester-
day she boasted to him that you had her in
mind when you annotmced in the papers that
the r61e of Nitouche will be played by the
beautiful and dashing Mme. X. X."
Cabinski began to laugh quietly.
* ' Only don't breathe a word about it. You'll
see what will happen. Before him she will
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The Comedienne 59
pretend to accept the part to show off. Halt
will immediately begin to rehearse her and will
make a fool of her before everyone. You will
then take away her part and give it to whom-
ever you like."
"You women are terrible in your malice."
"Bah, therein lies our strength."
They went out into the garden hall where
several members of the company were already
waiting for the rehearsal to begin. They sat
about on chairs in little groups laughing, jok-
ing, telling tales, and complaining while the
tuning of the orchestra furnished an accom-
paniment to the buzz of voices.
On the veranda an increasing number of
guests was assembling and the hum of voices,
the clatter of plates and the noisy shifting
of chairs grew ever louder. The smoke of
cigarettes ascended in clouds to the iron roof
beams.
Janina Orlowska entered. She sat down at
one of the tables and inquired of the waiter:
" Can you tell me if the director of the theater
has already arrived?"
"There he is!"
"Which one of them."
"What will you have, madame?"
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6o The Comedienne
"I beg your pardon, which of those gentle-
men is Mr. Cabinski?"
"A seven! . . . four whiskies!" someone
called to the waiter from a nearby table.
* ' Just a minute, just a minute 1 "
"Beer!" came another voice.
''Which of those gentlemen is the director? "
patiently asked Janina for the second time.
"I will serve you in a minute, madam!"
said the waiter bowing on all sides.
To Janina it seemed that they were all star-
ing at her and that the waiters, as they passed
with their hands full of beer-glasses and
plates, cast such strange glances that she
blushed in spite of herself.
Presently the waiter returned, bringing the
coffee she had ordered.
" Do you wish to see the director, madame?"
"Yes."
"He is sitting there in the first row of seats.
That short man in a white vest . . . there!
Do you see him?"
"I do. Thank you!"
"Shall I tell him you wish to speak to
him?"
' No. Anyway he seems to be busy."
'He is only chatting."
<n
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The Comedienne 6i
"And who are those gentlemen with whom
he is talking?"
''They are also members of onr company —
actors."
She paid for the coffee, giving the waiter a
ruble. He fumbled about a long time, as
though looking for change, but, seeing that
she was gazing in another direction, he bowed
and thanked her.
Having finished her coffee, Janina went into
the hall. She passed by the director and took
a cursory look at him. All that she saw was a
large, pale, anaemic face, covered with grayish
splotches.
A few actors standing near him impressed
her as handsome people. She noticed in their
gesttires, their smooth shaven faces, their easy,
smiling airs something so superior to the
men whom she had hitherto known, that
she listened to their conversation with rapt
attention.
The uncurtained stage, wrapt in darkness,
drew her with its hidden mystery.
For the first time Janina saw the theater
at close range and the actors off stage. The
theater seemed to her like a Grecian temple
and those people, whose profiles she had before
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62 The Comedienne
her, and whose eloquent voices sotmded in
her ears, seemed like true priests of art.
She was regarding ever3rthing about her
with interest, when she suddenly noticed that
the waiter who had served her was whispering
something to the director and pointing to her
with a slight gesture.
There ran through Janina a tremor of fear,
strange and depressing. She did not look up
again, but felt that someone was approaching,
that someone's glances were resting on her head
and encircling her figure.
She was still at a loss how to begin and what
to say, but felt that she must speak.
She arose when she noticed Cabinski stand-
ing before her.
''I am Mr. Cabinski, the director."
She stood there tmable to utter a word.
*' You deigned to ask for me, madame? " he
queried with a courteous bow, signifying that
he was ready to listen to her.
''Yes . . . if you please . . . Mr. Director.
I wished to ask you . . . perhaps you could,"
she stuttered, tmable for the moment to find
the right words to express what she wished to
say.
"Pray rest a little, madame, and calm yoiu--
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The Comedienne 63
self. Is it something very important?" he
whispered, bending toward her and at the
same time winking significantly to the actors
who were looking on.
''Oh, it is very important!" she answered,
meeting his gaze. ''I wish to ask you, Mr.
Director, if you would accept me as a member
of your company. "
This last sentence she uttered quickly as
though fearing that her courage and voice
might fail her ere it was spoken.
''Ah! ... is that all? . . . You wish to
be engaged, miss?" He stiffened suddenly,
studying her with a critical gaze.
"I journeyed here especially for that ptir-
pose. You will not refuse me, Mr. Director,
will you?"
"With whom did you appear before?"
" Pardon me, but I don't quite xmderstand."
"With what company? . . . Where?"
"I have never before appeared in the
theater. I came here straight from the coun-
try for the express purpose of joining it."
"You have never appeared before? . . .
Then, I have no place for you! " and he turned
to go.
Janina was seized with a desperate fear
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64 The Comedienne
that her quest would fail, so with courage and
a tone of strong entreaty in her voice she
began to speak hurriedly:
* * Mr. Director ! I journeyed here especially
to join your company. I love the theater so
ardently that I cannot live without it! . . .
Do not refuse me! I do not know anyone
here in Warsaw. I came to you because I
. had read so much about you in the papers. I
feel that I could play ... I have memorized
so many r61es! . . . You will see, Mr. Di-
rector ... if you only let me appear . . .
you will see!'*
Cabinski was silent.
''Or perhaps you would prefer to have me
call to-morrow? ... I can wait a few days, if
you wish," she added, seeing that he did not
answer, but was observing her intently.
Her voice trembled with entreaty; it modu-
lated with ease and there was so much origi-
nality and warmth in her tone that Cabinski
listened to her with pleasure.
''Now I have no time, but after the rehearsal
we can discuss the matter more thoroughly,"
he said.
She wanted impulsively to press his hand
and thank him for the promise, but her cour-
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The Comedienne 65
age failed her, for she noticed that an increas-
ing number of people were curiously observing
them.
''Hey there, Cabinski!"
''ManaUve!"
''Director! What's that ... a rendez-
vous? In broad daylight, before the eyes of
all, and scarcely three flights away from Pepa? ' '
Such were the bantering remarks htirled at
him from every direction after his parting
with Janina.
"Who is the charmer? "
"Director, it's rather careless to carry on
such an affair right there in the limelight."
"Ha! ha! now we've got you! . . . You
posed as a flawless crystal, my muddy amber ! "
called one of the company, a fleshless indi-
vidual with habittially contorted Ups that
seemed to spew gall and malice.
" Go to the devil, my dear ! This is the first
time I saw her," retorted Cabinski.
"A pretty woman ! What does she want? "
"A novice of some kind . . . she's seeking
an engagement."
"Take her, Director. There are never too
many pretty women on the stage."
"The director has enough of those calves."
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66 The Comedienne
** Don't fear, Wladek, they do not encum-
ber the budget, for Cabinski has a custom of
failing to pay his actors, particularly the young
and pretty ladies."
Thereat they all began laughing.
''Treat us to a whiskey, Director, and I will
tell you something," Glas began anew.
"Well, what is it?"
''That the manager will treat us to an-
other. ..."
"My fxmny sir, your belly grows at the ex-
pense of yotir wit . . . you are beginning to
prate like a fool," remarked Wladek.
"Only for fools . . :" Glas maliciously
thrust back at Wladek and retired behind the
scenes.
"John!" came the voice of the director's
wife from the veranda.
Cabinski went out to meet her.
She was a tall, stout woman with a face
that still retained traces of great beauty, now
carefully preserved with paint; she had coarse
features, large eyes, narrow lips, and a very
low forehead. Her dress was of an exag-
gerated youthful style and color, so that from
afar she gave the impression of being a yotmg
woman.
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The Comedienne 67
She was very proud of her director-husband,
of her dramatic talent, and of her children, of
which she had four. In real life she was fond
of playing the r61e of a matron occupied only
with her home and the upbringing of her child-
ren, while in truth she was nothing but a comedi-
enne, both in life and behind the scenes. On
the stage she impersonated dramatic mothers
and all the elder, tmhappy women, never under-
standing her parts, but acting them, neverthe-
less, with fervor and pathos.
She was a terror to her servants, to her own
children, and to young actresses whom she
suspected of possessing talents. She had a
shrewish temper which she masked before
others with an exaggerated calm and feigned
weakness.
''Good morning, gentlemen!'' . . . she
called, leaning with a careless attitude on her
husband's arm.
The company thronged aroimd her, Maj-
kowska greeting her with an effusive kiss.
''How charming Madame Directress looks
to-day," remarked Glas.
"Your vision must have improved, for the
directress always looks charming!" interposed
Wladek,
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68 The Comedienne
"How is your health? . . . Yesterday's
performance must have taxed your strength."
"You played superbly! . . . We all stood
behind the scenes in rapt attention."
"The critics were all weeping. I saw
Zarski wiping his eyes with his handkerchief."
"After sneezing . . . he has a bad catarrh,"
called someone from the side.
"The public was fascinated and swept off
its feet in the third act . . . they arose in their
chairs."
"That's because they wanted to run away
from such a treat," came the mocking voice
again.
"How many bouquets did you receive,
Madame Directress?"
"Ask the director, he paid the bill."
"Ah, Mr. Coimselor, you are imbearable
to-day!" cried t^ie directress in a sweet voice,
although almost pale with rage, for all the
actors were growing red in the face in their
effort to keep from laughing.
" It's intended as a kindness. . . . All the
rest of them are saying pretty things, let me
say something sensible."
"You are an impertinent man, Mr. Coim-
selor! . . . How can you say such things? . . ,
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The Comedienne 69
Moreover, what do I care about the theater!
If I played well, I owe it to my husband; if I
played badly it's the fault of the director for
forcing me to appear continually in new r61es!
If I had my way, I would lock myself up with
my children and confine myself to domestic
affairs. . . . My God! art is such a big thing
and we are all, compared with it, so small, so
small that I tremble with fear before each new
performance!" she declaimed.
''Please let me have a word with you in
private," called Majkowska.
"Do you see? . . . there is not even time to
talk of art!" she sighed deeply and departed.
' ' An old scarecrow ! ' '
"An everlastmg cow! . . . She thinks she
is an artist!"
"Yesterday she bellowed terribly."
"She flung herself aroimd the stage as
though she had St. Vitus' dance!"
"Hush! . . . according to her that is
realism!"
On the veranda Majkowska was concluding
her conversation with Mrs. Cabinska.
"Will you give me your word of honor,
Madame Directress ? "
"Of course. 111 see to it right away."
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70 The Comedienne
''It must be done. Nicolette has made
herself impossible in this company. Why, she
even dares to criticize your own playing!
Yesterday I saw her making disparaging
remarks to that editor," Majkowska whis-
pered.
''What! she dares to meddle with me?"
"I never indulge in gossip, nor do I want
to sow hatred, but "
"What did she say? ... in the presence
of the editor, did you say? Ah, the vile co-
quette!"
Majkowska smothered a smile, but hastily
replied, "No, TU not tell you ... I do not
like to repeat gossip ! "
"Well, 111 pay her back for it! . . . Wait,
we'll teach her a lesson ! " hissed the directress.
"Dobek, prompter! . . . get into your
box!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, the rehearsal com-
mences!"
"To the stage! to the stage!" was the cry
that went up all over the hall as the actors hur-
ried behind the scenes.
"Mr. Director!" called Majkowska, "you
can give the r61e to Nicolette ... your wife
agrees to it."
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The Comedienne 71
"Very well, my dears, very well. . . ."
He went out on the veranda where Nicolette
was already seated with a yoting gentleman,
very fastidiously dressed.
''We request your presence at the rehearsal,
Miss Nicolette. ..."
"What are you rehearsing ? " asked Nicolette.
'^Nitouche . . . why, don't you know that
you are to appear in the title r61e? ... I
have already advertised it in the papers."
Kazckowska, who had at that moment en-
tered and was looking at them, hastily covered
her face with her parasol, so as not to bmst
out laughing at the comical look of embarrass-
ment on Nicolette's face.
''I am too indisposed at present to take
part in the rehearsal," she said, scrutinizing
Cabiniski and Kaczkowska.
Evidently she suspected some ruse, but
Cabinski, with the solemnest mien in the
world, handed her the r61e.
''Here is your part, madame. . . . We
begin immediately," he said, going away.
"But Mr. Director! my dear Director, I
pray you, go on with the rehearsal without
me! ... I have such a headache that I doubt
I could sing," she pleaded.
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"It can't be done. We begin immediately."
"Oh, please do sing, Miss Nicolette! I'm
crazy to hear you sing!" begged the squire.
"Director!"
"What is it, my soprano?"
And the directress appeared, pointing to
Janina who was standing behind the scenes.
"A novice," answered Cabinski.
"Are you going to engage her?"
"Yes, we need chorus girls. The sisters
from Prague have left, for they made nothing
but scandals."
"She looks rather homely," opined Mrs.
Cabinska.
"But she has a very scenic face! . . . and
also a very nice, though strange voice."
Janina did not lose a word of this conver-
sation, carried on in an undertone ; she had also
heard the chorus of praise that went up on the
directress's appearance^ and later, the chorus
of derision. She gazed with a bewildered
look on that whole company.
"Clear the stage! clear the stage!"
Those standing on the stage hastily moved
back behind the scenes, for at the moment the
entire chorus rushed out in a gallop : a throng of
women, chiefly young women, but with painted
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faces, faded and blighted by their feverish life.
There were blondes and brunettes, small and
tall, thin and stout — a. motley gatheringfrom all
spheres of life. There were among them the
faces of madonnas with defiant glances, and
the smooth, round faces, expressionless and
unintelligent, of peasant girls. And all were
boredly cynical, or, at least, appeared so.
They began to sing.
''Halt! Start over again!" roared the
director of the orchestra, an individual
with a big red face and huge mutton-chop
whiskers.
The chorus retired and came back again
with heavy step, carrying on a sort of col-
lective can-canade, but every minute there
was heard the sharp bang of the conductor's
baton against his desk and the hoarse yell —
' ' Halt ! Start over again ! ' ' And swinging his
baton he would mutter under his nose, ''You
cattle!"
The chorus rehearsal dragged on intermin-
ably. The actors, scattered about in the
seats, yawned wearily and those who took part
in the evening's performance paced up and
down behind the scenes, indifferently waiting
for their turn to rehearse.
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74 The Comedienne
In the men's dressing-room Wicek was shin-
ing the shoes of the stage-manager and giving
him a hasty accotmt of his mission to Comely
Stre,et.
''Did you deliver the letter? . . . Have you
an answer?"
*'I should smile!" and he handed Topolski
a long pink envelope.
*' Wicek! . . . If you squeal a word of this
to anyone, you clown, you know what awaits
you!"
''That's stale news! . . . The lady said
just that, too. Only she added a ruble to her
warning."
"Maurice!" called Majkowska sharply,
appearing at the door of the dressing-room.
"Wait a minute. ... I can't go with
only one shoe shined, can I!"
"Why didn't you have the maid shine
them?"
"The maid is always at your service and I
can't get a single thing from her."
"Well, go and hire another."
"All right, but it will be for myself alone."
• " Nicolette, to the stage! "
"Call her!" cried Cabinsld from the stage
to those sitting around in the chairs.
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"Come, Matuice," whispered Majkowska.
"It'll be worth seeing."
"Nicolette, to the stage!" cried those in
the chairs.
"In a moment! Here I am ..." and
Nicolette, with a sandwich in her mouth and
a box of candy under her arm, rushed for the
stage entrance with such violence that the
floor creaked under her steps.
"What the devil do you mean by appearing
so late! This is a rehearsal ... we are all
waiting," angrily muttered the conductor of
the orchestra.
" I am not the only one you are waiting for,"
she retorted.
"Precisely, we are waiting only for you,
madame, and you know we have not come here
to argue. . . . On with the rehearsal!"
"But I have not yet learned a single line.
Let Kaczkowska sing . . . that is a part for
her!"
"The part was given to you, wasn't it?
. . . Well, then there's no use arguing! Let
us begin "
"Oh, director! Can't we postpone it till
this afternoon? Just now, it . . ."
"Begin!"
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76 The Comedienne
"Try it, Miss Nicolette . . . that part is
well adapted to yotir voice. ... I myself
asked the director to give it to you/' encotir-
aged Mrs. Cabinska with a friendly smile.
Nicolette listened, scanning the faces of the
whole company, but they were all immobile.
Only the yoimg gentleman smiled amorously
at her from the chairs.
The conductor raised his baton, the orches-
tra began to play, and the prompter gave her
the first words of her part.
Nicolette, who was noted for never being
able to learn her r61e, now tripped up in the
very first line and sang it as falsely as possible.
They began over again; it went a little
better, but ''Halt," as they called the con-
ductor, intentionally skipped a measure, caus-
ing her to make an awful mess of it.
A chorus of laughter arose on the stage.
"A musical cow!''
''To the ballet with such a voice and such
an ear!"
Nicolette, on the verge of tears, approached
Cabinski.
"I told you that I could not sing just now.
... I had not even time to glance at my
part."
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The Comedienne 77
"Aha, so you cannot, madame? . . . Please
hand me the r61e! . . . Kaczkowska will sing
it."
"I can sing, but just now I am unable to
... I don't want to flunk!"
"To turn the heads of gentlemen, to make
intrigues, to slander others before the press
reporters, to go gallivanting all about town
... for that you have time!" hissed Mrs.
Cabinska.
"Oh, go and mind your children . . . but
don't you dare to meddle with my affairs."
"Director! She insvilts me, that . . ."
"Hand me the part," ordered Cabinski.
"You can sing in the chorus, madame, since
you are tmable to sing a r61e."
"Oh no! . . . Just for that I am going to
sing it! . . . I don't care a snap for these vile
intrigues!"
"Who are you saying that to? " cried Cabin-
ska, jumping up from her chair.
"Well, to you, if you like."
"You are dismissed from the company!"
interposed Cabinski.
"Oh, go to the devil, all of you!" shouted
Nicolette throwing the r61e into Cabinski's
face. "It's known long ago that in your
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78 The Comedienne
company there is no place for a respectable
woman!"
"Get out of here, you adventuress!"
Cabinska sprang at her, but halfway across
she stopped short and burst into tears.
"On the right there is a sofa.. . . it will
be more comfortable for you to faint on,
Madame Directress!" called someone from
the chairs.
The company smiled with set faces.
"Pepa! . . . my wife! . . . calm yourself.
. . . For God's sake can't we ever do any
thing without these continual rumpuses!"
"Am I the cause of it?"
"I'm not blaming you . . . but you could
at least calm yourself . . . there's no reason
for you acting this way!"
"So that is the kind of husband and father
you are! . . . that is the kind of director!"
she shouted in fury.
"Hold out only one hour, and you'll go
straight to heaven, you martyr!" someone
called to Cabinski.
"Sir," queried a spectator, holding up one
of the actors by the button of his coat. "Sir,
are they playing something new?"
"First of all, that is a button from my coat
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The Comedienne 79
which you have pulled off!" cried the actor,
•'and that, my dear sir, is the first act of a
moving farce entitled Behind the Scenes; it is
given each day with great success."
The stage became deserted. The orchestra
was timing its instruments; "Halt" went for
a drink of beer, and the company scattered
about the garden. Cabinski, holding his head
with both hands, paced up and down the stage
like a madman, complaining half in anger,
half in commiseration, for his wife was still
quietly continuing her spasms.
''Oh what people! What people! What
scandals!"
Janina, startled by the brutality of the
spectacle she had just witnessed, retreated
behind the farthermost scene. She felt that
it was now impossible to speak with the
director.
"So these are artists! . . . this is the
theater!" she was thinking.
The rehearsal, after a short intermission,
began anew — ^with Kaczkowska as the titular
heroine.
Majkowska was in a splendid humor, being
so successfully rid of her rival.
The director, after his wife's departure,
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rubbed his hands in glee and motioned to
Topolski. They went out to the buffet for a
drink. Without a doubt he must have made
something on his break with Nicolette.
Stanislawski, the oldest member of the
company, walked up and down the dressing-
room, spitting with disgust and muttering to
Mirowska, who was sitting on a chair .with
her feet curled up under her.
''Scandals . . . nothing but scandals! . . .
how can we expect to have any success! ..."
Mirowska nodded her assent, smiling faintly
and keeping steadily on with the crocheting of
a handkerchief.
After the rehearsal Janina boldly approached
Cabinski.
''Mr. Director — '' she began.
"Ah, it is you, miss? . . . I will accept you.
Come to-morrow before the performance, and
we will talk it over. I have not the time
now."
"Thank you ever so much, sir!" she an-
swered overjoyed.
"Have you any kind of a voice?"
"A voice?"
"Do you sing?"
"At home I used to sing a little . . • but
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I do not think I have a stage voice . . . how-
ever, I . . ."
''Only come a little earlier and we shall try
you out. ... I shall speak to the musical
director."
6
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CHAPTER III
The Lazienki Park in Warsaw was athrob
with the breath of spring. The roses bloomed
and the jasmines diffused their heavy odor
through the park. It was so quiet and lovely-
there, that Janina sat for a few hours near the
lake, forgetting everything.
The swans with spreading wings, like white
cloudlets, floated over the azure bosom of the
water; the marble statues glowed with im-
maculate whiteness; the fresh and luxiuiant
foliage was like a vast sea of emerald steeped
in golden simlight; the red blossoms of the
chestnut trees floated down on the ground, the
waters and the lawns, and flickered like rosy
sparks among the shadows of the trees.
The noisy hum of the city reached here in a
subdued echo and lost itself among the bushes.
Janina had come here straight from the
theater. What she had seen disquieted her;
she felt within herself a dull pain of disillusion-
ment and hesitation.
82
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The Comedienne 83
She did not wish to remember anything, but
only kept repeating to herself, "I'm in the
theater! . . . I'm in the theater!''
There passed before her mind the figures
of her future companions. Instinctively she
felt that in those faces there was nothing
friendly, only, envy and hypocrisy.
Presently she proceeded to her hotel at
which she had stopped on the advice of her
fellow-travelers, on the train to Warsaw. It
was a cheap affair on the outskirts of the city
and frequented chiefly by petty farm officials
and the actors of small provincial theaters.
She was given a small room on the third
floor, with a window looking out upon the red
roofs of the old city, extending in ^rooked
and irregular lines. It was such an ugly view
that, on returning from Lazienki, with her
eyes and soul still full of the green of the
verdtire and the golden simlight, she immedi-
ately pulled down the shades and began to
unpack her trimk.
She had not yet had time to think of her
father. The city, the hubbub and bustle
which engulfed her immediately upon her
arrival at the station, the weariness caused
by the jotimey and by the last moments at
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84 The Comedienne
Bukowiec, and afterwards those feverish hours
at the theater, the rehearsal, the park, the
waiting for evening and her own conaing
rehearsal — all this had so completely absorbed
her that she forgot almost entirely about
home.
She dressed carefully, for she wished to
appear at her best.
When she arrived at the garden-theater the
lights were already turned on and the pubUc
was beginning to assemble. She went boldly
behind the scenes. The stage hands were
arranging the decorations; of the company,
no one was as yet present.
In the dressing-rooms the gaslights flared
brightly. The costumer was preparing gaudy
costtimes, and the make-up man sat whistling
and combing a wig with long, bright tresses.
In the ladies' dressing-room an old woman
was standing under the gaslight, sewing
something.
Janina explored all the comers, examining
everything, emboldened by the fact that no
one paid the slightest attention to her. The
walls behind the huge canvas decorations were
dirty, with their plaster broken off, and
covered with sticky dampness. The floors.
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The Comedienne 85
the moldings, the shabby ftimiture and
decorations, that seemed to her like beggarly
rags, were thick with dust and filth. The
odor of mastic, cosmetics, and burnt hair,
floating over the stage, nauseated her.
She viewed the canvas scenes of what were
supposed to be magnificient castles, the
chambers of the kings of operetta, gorgeous
landscapes — and beheld at close view a cheap
smear of colors which could satisfy only the
grossest of senses and then only from a dis-
tance. In the storeroom she saw card-
board crowns; the satin robes were poor
imitations, the velvets were cheap taffeta, the
ermines were painted cambric, the gold was
gilded paper, the armor was of cardboard, the
swords and daggers of wood.
She gazed at that future kingdom of hers
as though wishing to convince herself of its
worthiness. And, though it was sham, tinsel,
lies, and comedy she tried to see above it all
something infinitely higher — art.
The stage was not yet set, and was only
dimly lighted. Janina crossed it a few times
with the stately stride of a heroine, then again,
with the light, graceful airiness of an ingenue,
or with the quick feverish step of a woman who
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86 The Comedienne
carries with her death and destruction; and
with each new impersonation, her face as-
sumed the appropriate expression, her eyes
glowed with the flame of the Eimienides, with
storm, desire, conflict, or, kindling with the
mood of love, longing, anxiety they shone
like stars on a spring night.
She passed through these various trans-
formations unconsciously, impelled by the
memory of the plays and r61es she had read,
and so great was her abstraction, that she
forgot about everything and paid no atten-
tion to the stagehands, who were moving
about her.
'* My Al used to act the same way • . . the
same way ! '' said a quiet voice from behind the
scenes near the ladies' dressing-room.
Janina paused in confusion. She saw
standing there a middle-aged woman of me-
dium height, with a withered face and. stem
demeanor.
''You have joined otir company, miss?"
she inquired with a sharp energetic voice,
piercing Janina with her round, owl-like eyes.
''Not quite. ... I am about to have a
trial with the musical director. Ah, yes, Mr.
Cabinski even said that it was to take place
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The Comedienne 87
before the performance! ..." she cried,
recalling what he had told her.
"Aha! with that dninkard ..."
Janina glanced at her, surprised.
''Have you set your heart on being with us,
miss?"
"In the theater? . . . yes! ... I jour-
neyed here for that very purpose."
"From whence?" asked the elderly woman
abruptly.
"From home," answered Janina, but more
quietly and with a certain hesitation.
"Ah ... I see . . . you are entirely new
to the profession! . . . Well, well! that is
curious! ..."
"Why? . . . why should it be so strange
for one who loves the theater to try to join
it? . • ."
"Oh, that's what all of them say! . . .
while in truth, each of them nms away either
from something ... or for something. ..."
Janina was conscious of an accent of hidden
malice in her voice. "Do you know, madam,
how soon the musical director will arrive?"
she asked.
" I don't! " snapped back the elderly woman,
and walked away.
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88 The Comedienne
Janina moved back a little, for just then
the workmen were spreading a huge waxed
canvas over the stage. She was gazing at this
absent-mindedly, when the elderly woman
reappeared and addressed her in a nwlder tone,
''I will give you a piece of advice, miss. . • •
It is necessary for you to win over the musical
director."
''But how am I to do it?"
''Have you money? "
"I have, but ..."
" If you will listen to me, I will advise you."
"Certainly."
"You must get him a little drimk, then the
rehearsal will come off splendidly."
Janina glanced at her in amazement.
" Ha! ha! " laughed the other quietly. "Hal
ha! she is a real moon-calf!"
After a moment she whispered, "Let us go
to the dressing-room. I will enlighten you a
little ..."
She pulled Janina after her, and afterwards,
busying herself with piiming a dress on a
maniukin, she remarked, "We must get
acquainted."
"Tell me, madam, how about that musical
director?" asked Janina.
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The Comedienne 89
"It's necessary to buy him some cognac.
Yes ! ' ' she added after amoment, ' ' Cognac, beer,
and sandwiches will, perhaps, be sufficient."
''How much would that cost? "
'* I think that for three rubles you can give
him a decent treat. Let me have the money
and I will order everything for you. I had
better go right away."
Janina gave her the money.
Sowinska left and in about a quarter of an
hour returned, breathless.
"Well, everything is settled! Come along,
miss, the director is waiting."
Behind the restavirant hall there was a room
with a piano. "Halt," flushed and sleepy,
was already waiting there.
"Cabinski spoke to me about you, miss!"
he began. "What can you sing? . . . Whew!
how warm I feel! . . . Perhaps you will raise
the window?" he said, turning to Sowinska.
Janina felt disturbed by his hoarse voice and
his inflamed, drimken face, but she sat down to
the piano, wondering what she should select
to sing.
"Ah! you also play, naiss? . . " he queried
in great surprise.
"Yes," she answered, and began playing the
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90 The Comedienne
introduction to some song, without seeing
the signs that Sowinska was making to her.
''Please sing something for me," he said,
''I want to hear only your voice. . . . Or per-
haps you cotdd sing some solo part? "
"Mr. Director ... I feel that I have a
calling for the drama, or even for the comedy,
but never for the opera.*'
''But we are not talking about the
opera . . /'
"About what, then?"
"About this . . . the operetta!" he cried,
striking his knee. "Sing, Miss! ... I have
only a little time and I am burning up with
this heat."
She began to sing a song of Tosti's. The
director listened, but at the same time gazed
at Sowinska and pointed to his parched lips.
When Janina had ended, he cried, "Very
well ... we will accept you ... I must
hurry out, for I'm roasting."
' ' Perhaps you will have a drink of something
with us, Mr. Director? ..." she queried
timidly, understanding the signs that So-
winska gave her.
He pretended to excuse himself, but in the
end remained.
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Sowinska ordered the waiter to bring half a
bottle of cognac, three beers and some sand-
wiches, and, having drained her own glass,
she hastily left them, saying that she had for-
gotten something in the dressing-room.
"Halt" shoved his chair nearer to Janina's.
''Hm! . . . you have a voice, miss ... a
very nice voice . . . " he said and laid his big
red paw upon her knee, while with the other he
began to pour some brandy into his beer.
She moved back a little, disgusted.
''You can put on a bold front on the stage.
... I will help you . . . " he added, draining
his glass at one gulp.
*' If you will be so kind, Mr. Director ..."
Janina said, drawing away from him.
'*I will see to it ... I will take care of
you!"
And suddenly he took her about the waist
and drew her to him.
Janina shoved him back with such force
that he fell sprawling upon the table, and then
ran to the door, ready to cry out.
''Whew! . . . wait a minute . . . you're a
fool! . . . stay! . . . I wanted to take care of
you, help you, but since you're such a bloom-
ing fool, go and hang yourself! ..."
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92 The Comedienne
He drank the rest of his cognac and left.
On the veranda sat Cabinski with the
stage-manager.
"Has she any kind of a voice? " he inqtiired
of "Halt," for he had seen Janina entering
the room. * * A soprano? ' '
"Ho, ho! something tmheard of . . .
almost an alto!"
Janina sat for about an hotir in that room,
imable to control the indignation and rage
that shook her. There were lucid moments
when she would spring up as though ready to
rush out and away from those people, but
immediately she wotild sink down again with
a moan.
"Where will I go?" she asked herself, and
then added with a sudden determination.
"No, I will stay! ... I will bear all, if it is
necessary ... I must! ... I must!"
Janina became set in her stubborn deter-
mination. She collected within herself all her
powers for impending battle with misforttme,
with obstacles, with the whole evil and hostile
world — and for a moment, she saw herself on
some dizzying height where was fame and the
intoxication of triumph.
Presently Sowinska came in.
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The Comedienne 93
"Thank you, for your advice • . . and for
leaving me with a pig! ..." the girl
exclaimed, half weeping.
"I was in a hurry ... he did not eat you,
did he? . . . He's a good man. ..."
''Then leave your daughter alone with that
good man!" retorted Janina harshly.
''My daughter is not an actress, " answered
Sowinska.
"Oh! . . . It doesn't matter . . . It's
only a lesson for me, " she whispered, turning
away.
She met Cabinski and, approaching him,
asked, "Will you accept me, Mr. Director?"
"You may consider yourself engaged," he
answered. ' ' As for your salary we shall speak
of that another day."
"What am I to play? ... I shotdd like to
take the part of Clara in The Iron Master ^
Cabinski glanced at her sharply and cov-
ered his mouth with his hand so as not to burst
out laughing.
"Just a moment . . . just a moment . . .
you must first acquaint yourself with the
stage. In the meanwhile, you will appear
with the chorus. Halt told me that you
know how to play the piano and read notes.
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To-morrow I will give you some scores of the
operettas we play and you can learn the
chorus parts."
Janina went to the dressing-room and had
scarcely opened the door, when someone
pushed her back, slammed the door in her face
and called out angrily "Upstairs with you!
that is where the chorus girls belong! *'
She set her teeth and went upstairs.
The dressing-room of the chorus was a long,
narrow and low apartment. Rows of im-
shaded gaslights . burned above long bare,
board tables extending along the walls on
three sides of the room. The walls were
covered with imbeveled and tmpainted boards
which were scribbled all over with names,
dates jokes and caricatures, done in charcoal
or rouge paint. On the bare wall himg a
whole string of dresses and costumes.
About twenty women sat imdressed before
mirrors of various shapes, and before each
one there burned candles.
Janina spying an imoccupied chair, near the
door, sat down and began to look about her.
"I beg your pardon, but that is my seat!"
called a stout bnmette.
Janina stood aside.
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The Comedienne 95
''Did you come to see someone? . . .*'
asked the same chorus-girl, rubbing her face
with vaseline before applying powder.
'*No. I came to the dressing-room. I am
one of the company/' answered Janina rather
loudly.
"Oh, you are?"
A few heads raised themselves above the
tables and a few pairs of eyes were centered
upon Janina.
Janina told the brtmette her name.
''Girls! . . . this new (*ie calls herself
Orlowska. Get acquainted' with her!" called
the brimette.
A few of those sitting nearest her stretched
out their hands in greeting and then proceeded
with their make-up.
"Louise, loan me some powder."
"Go buy it!"
"Say Sowinska!" called down one of the
girls through the open door to the lower dress-
ing-room, "I met that same guy . . . you
know! . . . I was walking along NowySwiat."
' ' Tell it to the marines ! Who would fall for
such a scarecrow as you!" put in another.
"IVe bought a new suit . . . look!" cried
a small, very pretty blonde.
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"You mean he bought it for you!"
"Goodness, no! ... I bought it from my
own savings."
"Persian lamb! . . . oh! . . . Do you
think we'll believe you? . . . Come now, you
bought it out of that fellow's savings, didn't
you?"
"It's pure lily! . . . The waist is low-cut
with a yoke of cream-colored embroidery, the
skirt is plain with a shirred hem, the hat is
trimmed with violets," another girl was re-
coimting, as she slipped her ballet skirts over
her head.
"Listen there, you lily-colored kid . . .
give me back that ruble that you owe
me. . • .
' * After the play when I get it I '11 give it back
to you, honest!"
"Ha! ha! Cabinski will give it to you, like
fun . . ."
"I tell you, my dear, I'm getting desperate.
... He coughed a little . . . but I thought
nothing of it . . . tmtil yesterday, when I
looked down his little throat I saw . . . white
spots ... I ran for the doctor ... he
examined him and said: diphtheria! I sat
by him all night, rubbed his throat every hour
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... he couldn't say a word, only showed me
with his little finger how it htirt . . . and the
tears streamed down his face so pitifully that
I thought I'd die of grief ... I left the
janitress with him, for I must make some
money ... I left my cloak to cover him with
. . . but all, all that is not enough! . . ."a
slim and pretty actress with a face worn by
suffering and poverty was telling her neighbor
in a subdued voice, while she curled her hair,
carmined her pale lips, and with the pencil
gave a defiant touch to her eyes dunmed by
tears and sleepiness.
''Helen! your mother asked about you
to-day ..."
"Surely, not about me . . . my mother
died long ago.'*
''Don't tell me that! Majkowska knows
you and your mother well and saw you
together on Marshalkowska Street the other
day."
"Majkowska ought to buy herself a pair of
glasses, if she's so blind as that ... I was
going downtown with the housekeeper."
The other girls began to laugh at her. The
one who had denied her mother blew out her
candle and left in irritation.
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' ' She's ashamed of her own mother. That's
true, but such a mother! ..."
"A plain peasant woman. She com-
promises her before everybody. . . . At least,
she cotdd refrain from making a show before
other people!"
''How so? Can a girl be ashamed of her
mother? ..." cried Janina, who had been
sitting in silence, tmtil those last words stirred
her to indignation.
"You are a newcomer, so you don't know
anything," several answered her at once.
''May I come in? . . ." called a masctdine
voice from without.
"You can't! you can't!" chorused the girls
energetically.
"Zielinska! your editor has come."
A tall, stout chorus girl, rustling her skirts,
passed out of the room.
"Shepska! take a look out after them."
Shepska went out, but came back inmiedi-
ately.
"They've gone downstairs."
The stage bell rang violently.
"To the stage!" called the stage-director
at the door. ' ' We begin immediately ! ' '
There arose an indescribable hubbub. All
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The Comedienne 99
the girls began to talk and shout at the same
time; they ran about, tore away hairpins and
curling irons from one another, powdered
themselves, quarreled over trifles, blew out
candles, hastily closed their dressing-cases
and rushed down the stairs in crowds, for the
second bell had already sounded.
Janina descended last of all and stood
behind the scenes. The performance began.
They were playing some kind of half fairy-like
operetta. Janina could hardly recognize
those people or that theater — everything had
undergone such a magical transformation and
taken on a new beauty tmder the influence of
powder, paint, and light! . . .
The music, with the quiet caressing tones of
the flute, floated through the silence and stole
into Janina's soul, lulling it sweetly . . . and
later, a dance of some kind, soft, voluptuous,
and intoxicating, enveloped her with its
charm, lured and rocked her on the waves of
rhythm and held her in an ecstatic lethargy.
She felt herself drawn ever farther into a
confused whirl of lights, tones and colors.
Her impulsive and sensuous nature, struggling
hitherto with the drab commonplace of every-
day events and people, was fascinated. It
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was almost as she had visioned it in her sotil;
full of lights, music, thrilling accents, ecstatic
swoons, strong colors, and stormy and over-
powering emotions, breaking with the force of
thunderbolts.
The suffocating odor of powder dust floated
about her like a cloud, while from the crowded
hall there flowed a stream of hot breaths and
desiring glances that broke against the stage
like a magnetic wave, drowning in forget-
fulness all that was not song, music, and
pleasure.
When the act ended and a storm of applause
broke loose, she was on the verge of fainting.
She bent her head and eagerly drank in those
murmurs resembling lightning flashes and, like
them blinding the soul. She breathed in
those cries of the delighted public with her f till
breath and with all the might of her sotd that
craved for fame. She closed her eyes, so that
that impression, that picture might last
longer.
The enchanting vision had dissolved. Over
the stage moved men in their shirt sleeves
and without vests; they were changing the
scenes, arranging the furniture, fastening the
props. She saw the grimy necks, the dirty
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and ugly faces, the coarse and hardened
hands and the heavy forms.
She went out on the stage and through a slit
in the curtain gazed out on the dim hall packed
full of people. She saw himdreds of yoimg
faces, women's faces, smiling and still stirred
by the music, while their owners fanned
themselves; the men in their black evening
clothes formed dark spots scattered at regtdar
intervals, upon the light backgrotmd of femi-
nine toilettes.
Janina felt a strange disappointment as she
realized that the faces of the public were very
much like those of Grzesikiewicz, her father,
her home acquaintances, the principal of her
boarding school, the professors at the academy
and the telegrapher at Bukowiec. For the
moment, it seemed to her that that was a sheer
impossibility. How so? . . . She, of course,
knew what to think about those others, whom
long ago she had classified as fools, light-
heads, dnmkards, gossipers, silly geese and
house-hens; small and shallow souls, a band of
common eaters-of -bread, stmk in the shallow
morass of material existence. And these
people that filled the theater and doled out
applause, and whom she had once thought of
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102 The Comedienne
as demi-gods — ^were they the same as those
others? Janina asked herself, that, wonder-
ingly.
"Madame!" said a voice beside her.
She tore her face away from the curtain.
At her side stood a handsome, elegantly
dressed yoimg man who was holding his hand
to his hat, smiling in a conventional manner.
"Just let me look a moment . . /'he said.
Janina moved away a bit.
He glanced through the slit in the curtain
and relinquished her place to her.
"Pardon me, pardon me for disturbing
you . . .''he said.
"Oh, I've looked all I wanted to, sir . . ."
she answered.
"Not a very interesting sight, is it? . . ."
he queried. "The most authentic Philistia;
trade-mongers and shoemakers. . . . Perhaps
you think, madame, that they come to hear,
and admire the play? Oh, no! . . . they
come here to display their new clothes, have
supper, and kill time. ..."
"Well then, who does come for the play
itself?" she asked.
" In this place, no one. . . . At the Grand
Theater and at the Varieties . . . there, per-
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The Comedienne 103
haps, you may yet find a group, a very small
group who love art and who come for the sake
of art alone. I have often touched upon that
matter in the papers/'
''Mr. Editor, let me have a cigarette!"
called an actor from behind the scenes.
''At your service." He handed the actor
a silver cigarette-case.
Janina, moving away, gazed with admira-
tion at the writer, delighted with the oppor-
timity of observing such a man at close range.
How many times in the cotmtry while lis- •
tening to the everlasting conversations about
farming, politics, rainy and clear weather, she
had dreamed of this other world, of people
who wotdd discourse to her of ideals, art,
humanity, progress and poetry, and who
impersonated in themselves all those ideals.
' ' You must not be very long in this company
for I have not had the pleasure of seeing you
before ..."
"I was engaged only to-day."
"Have you appeared elsewhere before?"
"No, never on the real stage. ... I took
part only in amateur theatricals."
"That is the way nearly all dramatic tal-
ent develops. I know ... I happen to
'^
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104 The Comedienne
know . . . Modrzejewska herself often men-
tioned that fact to me," he remarked, with a
condescending smile.
"Mr. Editor ... do yotir duty!" called
Kaczkowska, extending her hands.
The editor buttoned her gloves, kissed each
of her hands a few times, received a slap on the
shoulder in reward and retreated to the cur-
tain where Janina was standing.
''So this is your first appearance in the
theater? ..." he asked. '*No doubt it's a
case of the family opposing . . . inflexible
determination on your part . . . the isolation
and dullness of the cotmtryside . . . your
first appearance as an amateur . . . stage
fright . . . success . . . the recognition of
the divine spark within yourself . . . your
dreams of the real stage . . . tears . . .
sleepless nights ... a struggle with an ad-
verse environment . . . finally, consent . . •
or perhaps a secret escape in the night . . .
fear . . . anxiety . . . going the roimds of
the directors . . . seeking an engagement
. . . ecstasy . . . art . . . godliness!" he
spoke rapidly, telegraphically.
"You have almost guessed it, Mr. Editor
... it was the same with me," said Janina.
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The Comedienne 105
*' You see, mademoiselle, I knew so from the
first. It's intuition that's all! I'll take care
of you, upon my word! ... I'll insert a little
item about you in our next issue. Later,
give a few details tmder a sensational headline,
next, a longer article about the new star on the
horizon of dramatic art," he sped on. . . .
"You will sweep them off their feet . . . the
directors will tear you away fron each other,
and in about a year or two . . . you will be
in the Grand Theater at Warsaw! ..."
" But, Mr, Editor, no one knows me; no one,
as yet, knows whether I have talent ..."
' ' You have talent, my word ! My intuition
tells me that. . • . Do not believe the testi-
mony of the senses, mademoiselle, hold your-
self aloof from all reasoning, throw to the dogs
all calculations, but do not fail to believe
intuition! ..."
"Come here, editor • . . hurry!" called
someone to him.
"Au revoir! au revoir!" he said, throwing a
kiss to Janina and touching the brim of his
hat as he disappeared.
Janina arose from her seat, but that same
intuition which he had advised her to heed,
told her not to take his words seriously. He
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seemed to her a light-headed individual given
to hasty judgments. That promise of notices
and articles in the papers and his extravagant
praises of her talent seemed to her merely
insincere twaddle. Even his face, gestures,
and manner of speaking reminded her of a
certain notorious braggart living in the vicin-
ity of Bukowiec.
The second act of the play commenced.
Janina looked on, but it did not carry her
away as the first had done.
''How do you like our theater? ..." asked
the brimette chorus girl, whom she had met
in the dressing-room.
''Very well!" answered Janina.
"Bah! the theater is like a plague; when it
infects anyone, you might as well say
amen! ..." whispered the brimette, her
voice hard.
Behind the scenes, in the almost dark pas-
ages between the decorations there was a great
ntimber of people. The actors stood in the
passages and certain pairs were crouched in
the darkness; whispers and discreet laughs
soimded on all sides.
The stage-director, an old, bald man with-
out a collar and dressed only in a vest, with a
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The Comedienne 107
scenario in one hand and a bell in the other,
ran up and down at the back.
*'To the stage! You enter immediately,
madame! . . . enter! . . ."he cried all per-
spired and flushed, and ran on again, gathered
frorii the dressing-rooms those who were
needed on the stage, and at the appropriate
moment whispered ' ' Enter ! ' *
Janina saw how the actors suddenly inter-
rupted their conversations, left each other in
the midst of some sentence, stood down half-
empty glasses, and rushed for the entrances,
waiting for their ttim, immovable and silent
or nervously whispering the words of their
r61es, and entering into their characters;
she saw the quivering of lips and eyelids, the
trembling of legs, the sudden paleness beneath
the layer of paint, and the feverish glances
of stage fright . . ,
''Enter!" soimded a voice like the crack of
a whip.
Almost everyone started violently, hastily
assumed the required facial expression, crossed
himself a few .times and went on.
Each time the stage door opened a thrill
went through Janina at that wave of strange
fire, that streamed toward her from the public.
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io8 The Comedienne
She began again to lose herself in the play.
That mysterious gloom, those garish hues
and forms, emerging from the shadows and
suddenly flooded with light, the strains of
invisible music, the echo of singing, the sotmd
of subdued footfalls and strange whispers in
the darkness, the feverish rapture of the
public, the glowing eyes, the excitement, the
thimdering applause, like a far-away storm,
streams of dazzling light alternating with
darkness, the throng of people, the pathetic
ring of words, tragic cries, heart-rending sobs,
moans, weeping, a whole melodrama, pom-
pously and noisily acted — all this filled Janina
with a fervor different from the one she had
felt in the first act, the fervor of energy and
action. She went through the playing with
all the actors, suffered together with those
paper heroes and heroines, feared with them
and loved with them; she felt their nervous-
ness before entering the stage, trembled with
emotion in the pathetic moments of the play,
while certain words and cries sent so strange
and painful a tremor through her that they
brought the tears to her eyes and a faint cry
to her lips.
An increasing number of people from the
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The Comedienne 109
audience began to come behind the scenes.
Boxes of candy, bouquets, and single flowers
circulated freely from hand to hand. Beer,
whisky, and cognac were drimk and cakes
were snatched from a huge tray. Gusts of
laughter broke out here and there, jokes
exploded like fireworks in the air. Some of
the chorus girls had dressed and were going
out into the garden.
Janina saw actors in their negligee only,
parading up and down before their dressing-
rooms; women, in white petticoats with naked
shoulders and with half of their stage make-up
removed, were strolling about the stage and
peeping through the curtain at the public.
On noticing some stranger, they would retreat
uttering little shrieks, smiling coquettishly,
and darting significant glances.
Waiters from the restaurant, maids, and
stage hands went flying about like htmting
hoimds.
''Sowinska!"
''Tailor!"
"Costumer!"
*' A pair of pants and a cape! "
*' A cane for the stage and a letter! "
. /'Wicek! run to the director and tell him
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that it is time for him to dress for the last
act!"
''Set the stage!"
"Wicek! send me some rouge, beer, and
sandwiches! ..." called one actress across
the stage.
In the dressing-rooms reigned chaos, forced
and hurried changing of dress, feverish make-
up with cosmetics that were almost melting
from the heat, and quarrels. . . .
**If you pass before me again on the stage,
sir, ril kick your shins, as I live!"
''Go kick your dog! My part calls for
that . • . here, read it!"
"You intentionally hide me from view ! "
"What did I tell you!" said another. "I
merely popped out and immediately there
arose a murmur of applause."
"It was only the wind and that fellow
thinks it was applause," answered another
voice,
"There was a murmur of disgust, because
you bimgled your part."
" How the deuce can one keep from bungling
when Dobek prompts like a consumptive
nag?"
"Speak yourself, and I will then stop . . •
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The Comedienne m
we'll see what a fool you'll make of yourself!
... I put word after word into his ear as
with a shovel and . . . nothing doing! . . .
I shout o'lt so loudly that Halt kicks at the
stage for silence . . . but that fellow still
stands there like a dummy!" retorted Dobek.
'*I always know my part; you trip me up
intentionally."
"Tailor! a belt, a sword and a hat . . .
hurry!"
"... Mary! if you tell me to go, there
will go with me night and suffering, loneliness
and tears . . . Mary! do you not hear me?
... It is the voice of the heart that loves
you . . . the voice ..." repeated Wladek,
pacing up and down the dressing-room with
his r61e and gesticulating wildly, deaf to all
that was going on about him.
"Hey there, Wladek . . . put on the soft
pedal. . . . You'll have enough opportimity
to roar and groan on the stage tmtil our ears
are sore," called someone.
"Gentlemen! haven't you perhaps seen
Peter?" inquired an actress, poking her head
through the door.
"Gentlemen, see if Peter isn't sitting some-
where under the table," mocked someone.
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112 The Comedienne
"Milady . . . Peter went upstairs with a
very pretty little dame."
"Murder him, madame! he's unfaithful!"
Such were the remarks, punctuated with
laughter, that greeted her.
The actress vanished and from the
other side of the stage one could hear
her asking everyone, "Have you seen
Peter?"
"She will go crazy some day from jealousy
over him! . . ." remarked someone.
' ' A respectable woman ! "
"But that doesn't prevent her from being a
fool."
"How are you. Editor!"
"Oh, it's the editor, is it! . . . that means
we'll have beer and cigarettes."
"And here comes the cotmselor! . . •"
" Good evening Cotmselor!"
"What news at the box office?"
"Fine! . . . The theater is sold out, for I
saw Gold smoking a cigar."
"Praised be the gods! The advances en
our salaries will be larger."
"How do you do, Bolek! • . . Don't come
in here, or you will melt like butter • • . we
have a little Africa here to-day . . • "
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The Comedienne "3
"We'll cool otirselves immediately, for I've
ordered the beer ..."
*'To the stage, everybody! . . . The people /
to the stage! The priests to the stage! The '
soldiers to the stage!'* shouted the stage-
director, rushing from one dressing-room to
the other.
After a moment, all had vanished.
It was well after ten o'clock, the next morn-
ing at her hotel when Janina awoke, worn-out
completely; for the moment, she could not
imderstand, where she was.
She no longer felt any of yesterday's feverish
raptures, but rather a quiet gladness that she
was already in the theater. At moments, the
bright tone of her mood was overcast by some
shadow, some presentiment, or imconscious
memory from the past; it was the glimmering
of something tmpleasant which, although it
quickly vanished, left traces of tmeasiness.
She hastily drank her tea and was about to
go out, when someone gently rapped at the
door.
"Come in!" she called.
There entered an old Jewish woman, neatly
dressed, with a big box tmder her arm.
* * Good morning, miss ! "
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"4 The Comedienne
''Good morning," she answered, surprised
by the visit.
"Perhaps you will buy something, miss?
... I have good, cheap wares. Perhaps
you need some jewelry? Perhaps some
gloves or hairpins, — they are pure silver.
I have all kinds of articles at different prices
and all are genuine Parisian goods! ..." she
chattered on rapidly, spreading the contents
of her box on the table, while her little black
eyes with heavy red lids, like the eyes of a
hawk, wandered about the room and took
stock of everything.
Janina kept silent.
''It won't harm you to look at them ..."
insisted the Jewess. "I have cheap things
and pretty things! Perhaps you will have
some ribbons, or laces, or stockings? ... or
will you have some of these silk handker-
chiefs? ..."
Janina began to examine the collection
spread out on the table and selected a few
yards of some ribbon.
"Perhaps your mother will also buy some-
thing? ..." ventured the Jewess, looking at
her intently.
"I am alone."
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The Comedienne 115
"Alone? '* she drawled, with an inquisitive
contraction of her eyebrows.
''Yes, but I don't intend to live here,"
explained Janina, as though justifying her-
self.
''Perhaps I might recommend a boarding
house to you? ... I know a certain widow
who ... "
"Very well," interrupted the girl, "you
might find me a room with some private family
on Nowy Swiat, near the theater ..."
"You belong to the theater, miss?" . . .
ah! . . ."
"Yes."
"Perhaps you need something else? ... I
have beautiful things for the theater."
"No, I have all I want."
"I will sell them cheap ... as I'm an
honest woman . . . cheap! They are just
what you want for the theater."
"I don't need anything."
" May I die, if they are not dirt cheap! . . .
These are such hard times."
She replaced all her wares in the box and
drew closer to Janina.
"Perhaps you will give me a chance to make
something? . . •"
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ii6 The Comedienne
** I won't buy anything else, for I don't need
it!" answered Jane, growing impatient.
''I don't mean that!"
The old woman began to whisper htirriedly
— '*I know nice yoimg men ... do you
understand, miss? . . . rich yo\mg men! . . .
That is not my business, but they asked me to
. . . They'll come to see you themselves . . .
Nice, rich, young men."
''What? . . . What?" cried Janina.
"Why are you so excited, Miss?"
*'Get out of here, or I'll call the servant!"
shouted Janina.
"Goodness, what a temper! ... I knew at
least ten ladies, who were the same as you in
the beginning and afterwards they were ready
to kiss my hands, if only I would introduce
them to some gentleman ..."
She did not finish, for Janina opened the
door, and pushed her out.
At the theater she met Sowinska on the
veranda, and immediately, in the politest
manner, asked her if she did not know of some
room she could rent with a private family.
"Ah, that just fits in fine! ... If you wish,
there is a room in our house that you may have.
We can let you have it cheap, together with
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The Comedienne "7
yotir meals. It is a very nice room on the
lower floor, with windows facing the south,
and a separate entrance from the hall."
They agreed on the price and Janina said
she would pay her a month's rent in ad-
vance.
"So that all's settled!" said Sowinska.
"You will find our house very quiet, for my
daughter has no children. . • . Come, I will
show you the room."
"Not tmtil after the rehearsal; and if you
haven't the time to wait, leave me the address
and I will find the place myself."
Sowinska gave her the address and went
away.
Janina was handed her notes and took part
in the rehearsal, singing from them.
Kaczkowska wanted Halt to accompany her
at the piano.
"Give me a rest, madame! I have no
time!" he answered.
"If you wish, madame, I will accompany
you, providing it is from notes . . ."proposed
Janina.
Kaczkowska drew her eagerly away to the
room with the piano and kept her busy for
about an hour; but the whole company at
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ii8 The ComMenne
once became interested in this chorus girl who
coiild play the piano.
Afterward Cabinska spoke with Janina a
long time, and requested her to come to her
home the following day after the rehearsal.
Janina went straight from the theater to
Sowinska's house to look at her room.
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CHAPTER IV
<!'
*The Management has the honor of
requesting the presence of the lady and gentle-
man artists of the Company, as also the
members of the orchestra and the choruses, at
a tea and social to be held at the home of the
Director on the 6th of this month, after the
performance. The Director of the Society
of Dramatic Artists. (Signed) John, the
Anointed, Cabinski.
"Well, what do you say, Pepa? . . . Will
this do? . . ." the Director asked his wife
after he had read aloud the invitation.
"Teddy! be quiet, I can't hear what father
is reading."
"Mamma, Eddy took my roll!"
"Papa, Teddy called me a jackass!"
"Silence! By God! with those children
. . . Quiet them, Pepa."
"If you give me a penny, pa, I'll be quiet."
"And me too, me too! "
Cabinski held the whip on his knee under
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120 The Comedienne
the table and waited; as soon as the children
had advanced near enough, he sprang up and
began to belabor them.
There arose a squealing and screeching; the
door flew open and the junior directors went
sliding down the banisters to the accompani-
ment of howls.
Cabinski calmly proceeded to read over
again the invitation.
''At what time do you wish to invite
them?"
' * After the performance. ' '
**Youll have to ask some of the reporters.
But that must be done personally.*'
''I haven't time."
''Ask someone from the chorus to write the
invitations for you."
"Bah! And let them make stupid mis-
takes? Perhaps you will write them for me,
Pepa? . . . You have a neat hand."
"No, it's not proper that I, the wife of the
director, should write to strange men. I told
that . . . what is the name of the girl whom
you engaged for the chorus? ..."
"Orlowska."
"Yes ... I told her to come here to-day.
I like her. Kaczkowska told me that she
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The Comedienne 121
plays the piano excellently, so the thought
struck me that . . .'*
''Well then, let her write the invitations; if
she plays the piano, she must also know how
to write."
''Not only that, but I think that she could
teach Jadzia how to play ..."
" Do you know, that's not at all a bad idea!
. . . We might include that in her future
salary."
"How much are you pajdng her?" she
asked, lighting a cigarette.
"I have not yet agreed upon a price . . .
but I will pay her as much as I pay the
others," he answered with a strange smile.
"Which means that ..."
"That ril pay her a great, a great deal . . .
in the future.'
"Ha! ha! ha!"
Both began to laugh, and then became
silent.
"John, what do you propose for the
supper?"
"I don't know as yet . . . I'll talk it over
at the restaurant. We'll arrange it some-
how . . ."
Cabinski proceeded to make a clean copy of
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122 The Comedienne
the invitation, while Pepa sat in a rcx^king-
chair, ptiffing away at her cigarette.
''John! . . . Haven't you noticed any-
thing peculiar about Majkowska's acting,
recently?"
''No, nothing ... if she performs a little
spasmodically, that's merely her style."
"A little! . . . Why, she goes into epilep-
tic fits! The editor told me the papers are
calling attention to it."
"For God's sake, Pepa! Do you want to
drive away our best actress? You ousted
Nicolette, who had a gallery of her own."
"Well, and you had a great liking for her
too; I happen to know something about that."
"And I could tell you something about that
editor of yours ..."
"What business is that of yours! ... Do
I interfere when you go prowling about back-
rooms with chorus girls? "
"But neither do I ask you what you do!
... So what's the use of quarreling about
it? . . . Only I will not let you touch
Majkowska! With you it's merely a question
of intrigue, while with me it's one of existence.
You know right well that there is not another
such pair of heroic actors as Mela Majkowska
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The Comedienne 123
and Topolski, anywhere in the provinces, and
perhaps not even at the Warsaw Theater. To
tell the truth, they are the sole props of our
company! You want to oust Mela, do you?
... I tell you she has the sympathy of the
whole public, the press praises her . . . and
she has real talent! ..."
''And I? . . ." she asked threateningly,
facing him.
"You? . . . You also have talent, but"
. . . he added softly, ''but ..."
' * There are no 'buts ' about it ! You are an
absolute idiot. . . . You have no conception
whatever about acting, or plays, or artists.
You are yourself a great artist, oh, such a great
artist ! Do you remember how you played the
part of Francis in The Robbers? ... Do
you? ... If you don't, FU tell you . . .
You played it like a shoemaker, like a circus
clown! ..."
Cabinski sprang up as though someone had
struck him with a whip.
"That's a lie! The famous Krolikowski
played it in the same way; they advised me to
imitate him, and I did ..."
"Krolikowski played like you? . . .
You're a fool, my artist!"
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124 The Comedienne
"Pepa, you had better keep qtdet, or I'll
tell you what you are!"
''O tell me, please do tell me!" she cried
out in a rage.
''Nothing great, nor even anjrthing small,
my dear."
''Tell me plainly what you mean ..."
"Well then, I'll tell you that you are not a
Modrzejewska," laughed Cabinski.
"Silence, you clown! ..." she yelled
throwing her lighted cigarette at him.
"Wait, wait, you backstairs prima donna,"
he hissed, growing pale with rage.
Cabinski in his dressing gown, torn at the
elbows, in his night clothes and slippers,
began to pace up and down the room, while
Pepa, just as she had arisen from sleep,
tmwashed, with yesterday's stage make-up
still adorning her face, and her hair all dis-
heveled, whirled arotmd in circles, her white
and soiled petticoat rustling.
They stared at each other with furious and
threatening glances. Their old competitive
enmity burst out in full force. They hated
each other as artists because they mutually
and irresistibly envied each other their talents
and success with the public.
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The Comedienne 125
''I played poorly, did I? . . . I played like
a circus clown? . . ."he shouted.
He seized a glass from one of the racks and
hurled it to the floor.
Quickly Pepa intercepted him and screened
the dishes with her body.
'* Get out of the way ! " he growled threaten-
ingly, clenching his fists.
''These are naine!" she cried and threw the
whole heap of dishes at his feet with such force
that they broke into little bits.
"You cow!''
"You fool!"
"Please ma'am, let me have the money for
breakfast," said the maid, at that instant
entering.
" Let my husband give it to you!" answered
Cabinska, and with a proud stride, went into
the next room, slamming the door after her.
"Let me have the money, sir. It's late
and the children are crying!"
He laid a ruble on the table, brushed his
top hat with his sleeve and departed.
The nurse took a pitcher and a basket for
rolls and went out.
The Cabinskis had no more time to think
of their household than of their children, and
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126 The Comedienne
cared for nothing, absorbed entirely by the
theater, their r61es, and their struggle for
success. The canvas walls of the stage scenes
and decorations representing elegant salons
and interiors stifficed them entirely ; there they
breathed more freely and felt better. In the
same way a canvas scene depicting some wild
landscape with a castle on the summit of a
chocolate-colored hill and a wood painted
below sufficed them as a substitute for real
fields and woods. The smell of mastic, cos-
metics, and perfume were to them the sweetest
odors. They merely came home to sleep,
their real home, where they lived habitually,
was on the stage and behind the scenes.
Cabinski had been in the theater some
twenty years, playing continually, and still,
he desired each new r61e for himself and envied
others.
Pepa never took accotmt of anjrthing, but
listened only to her momentary instinct and
sometimes to her husband. She doted on the
melodrama, on strained and nerve-thrilling
situations; she liked a sweeping gesture, an
exalted tone of voice, and glaring novelties.
Her pathos was often of the exaggerated
variety, but she played with fervor. A certain
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The Comedienne 127
play, or some accent or word wotild move her
so deeply that even after leaving the stage
she would still shed real tears behind the
scenes.
She knew her parts better than anyone else,
for she wotild memorize them with mechanical
precision. For her children she cared about
as much as for her old dresses: she bore them
— and left them to the care of her husband
and the nurse.
Immediately after Cabinski's departure
Pepa called through the door, ''Nurse, come
here!"
The nurse had just returned with the coffee
and the boys whom she had dragged in from
the yard with difficulty.
She served the breakfast to the children and
promised: ''Eddy . . . you will get a pair of
new shoes . . . papa will buy them for you.
Teddy will get a new suit and Jadzia a dress
. . . Drink your coffee, dears!"
She patted their heads, handed them the
rolls and wiped their faces with maternal
solicitude. She loved them and fussed over
them as though they were her own children.
"Nurse!" shouted Cabinska, sticking her
head through the door.
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128 The Comedienne
"Yes, I hear you."
''Where is Tony?"
''She's gone to the laundry."
"You will go, nurse, for my dress to Sowin-
ska on Widok Street. Do you know where it
is? . . ."
"Of course, I know! . . . That skinny
woman who's as cross as a chained dog. ..."
"Go right away."
"ManMna! ... let us also go with
nurse ..." begged the children, for they
feared their mother.
"You will take the children along with
you, nurse."
"Of course, that's understood ... I
wouldn't leave them here alone!"
She dressed the children, put on a sort of
woolen dress with broad red and white stripes,
covered her head with a kerchief, and went out
with them.
Cabinska dressed and was about to go out,
when the bell rang. A small, rather corpulent
and very active gentleman pushed his way in.
It was the cotinselor.
His face was carefully shaven, he wore gold-
rimmed glasses on his small nose, and a smile,
that seemed glued there, on his thin lips.
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The Comedienne 129
''May I come in? . . . Will Madame
Directress permit it? . . . Only for a minute,
for I must be right off again! . . /'he recited
rapidly.
''Of course, the esteemed cotmselor is
always welcome. . . .** called Cabinska,
appearing.
"Good morning! Pray let me kiss your
little hand. . . . You look charming to-day.
I merely dropped in here on my way ..."
"Please be seated."
The cotmselor sat down, wiped his glasses
with his handkerchief, smoothed his very
sparse, but tmgrayed black hair, hastily
crossed his legs, and blinked a few times with
neuralgic eyes.
" I read in to-day's Messenger a very flatter-
ing mention about you, Madame Directress."
"It's unmerited, for I don't know how that
r61e ought to be played."
"You played it beautifully, wonderfully!"
"Oh, you're a naughty flatterer, Mr. Coun-
selor! . . ."shechided.
"I speak nothing but the truth, the
tmadulterated truth, my word of honor!"
"Please ma'am it is already noon," inter-
rupted the nurse, who had returned.
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130 The Comedienne
"You are boimd for the theater, Madame
Directress?"
''Yes, I'll drop in to see the rehearsal, and
then take a walk about town."
''Then we will go together, agreed? ..."
asked the counselor. *'0n the way we shall
settle a little piece of business.'.'
Cabinska glanced at him tmeasily. He was
again blinking his eyes, crossing his feet, and
adjusting his glasses which had a habit of
continually slipping off.
"No doubt he wants that money, ..."
thought Cabinska, as they were going down
the stairs.
The cotmselor, in the meanwhile, was smiling
and chirping away in honeyed tones.
This strange individual would show up at
the garden-theater at the very first perform-
ance and vanish after the last, until the follow-
ing spring. He freely loaned money which
was never returned to him. He would give
suppers, bring gifts of candy to the actresses,
take the yoim^ novices tmder his wing and
was always reputed to be in love with some
actress platonically. Immediately upon his
first appearance, Cabinski had borrowed one
htmdred rubles from him — and before all
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The Comedienne 131
those present he had intentionally forced him
to accept as sectirity his wife's bracelet with
the object of convincing them that he had no
money.
They entered the theater and quietly took
their seats, for the rehearsal was already in full
swing and Kaczkowska with Topolski were
just in the midst of a capital love scene.
The counselor listened, bowed on all sides
with a smile and whispered to the directress:
'* Love is a splendid thing . . . on the stage!"
''Even in life it is not bad," she re-
marked.
''True love is very rare in life, so I prefer it
on the stage, for here I can enjoy it every
day," he spoke hurriedly, and his eyelids
began to blink again.
"You have been disillusioned, Cotmselor?"
"Oh no, by no means! . . . How are you,
Piesh!"
"Well, sated with food, and bored," replied
a tall actor with a handsome, thoughtful face,
extending his hand.
"Will you smoke some Egyptian cigar-
ettes?"
"I will, if you will let me have some," he
answered coolly.
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132 The Comedienne
**Mrs. Piesh is as well and as jealous as
ever, eh? . . ." inquired the counselor, hand-
ing him a cigarette.
''Just as you are always in a good humor
. . . Both are diseases."
**So you consider htimor a disease, eh?"
asked the cotmselor.
''I hold that a normal man ought to be
indifferent and care for nothing."
''How long have you been riding that
hobbyhorse?"
"Truth is usually learned late."
"How long will you stick to that truth? "
"Perhaps forever, if I can find nothing
better."
"Piesh, to the stage! " came the voice of the
stage-director.
The actor arose stiffly, and with a quick,
automatic step, went behind the scenes.
"A curious, a very curious fellow!" whis-
pered the cotmselor.
"Yes, but very tiresome with his ever*
lasting truths, ideals, and other foolish haber-
dashery!" cried a young actor dressed like a
doll in a light suit, a pink-striped shirt and
yellow calf -skin pumps.
"Ah, Wawrzecki! . . . You must have
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The Comedienne ^33
again slain some innocent beauty, for your
face is as radiant as the sun ..."
''It's easy for you to joke, Mr. Counsel-
or! . . ."he defended himself with a know-
ing smile, advancing his shapely foot. He
posed gracefully, raised his hand, and flashed
his jeweled rings, for the directress was gaz-
ing at him through half -closed eyes.
''Well then, in your estimation who is not
tiresome, eh? . . . Come now, confess my
boy!"
"The coimselor, for he has humor and a
good heart; the director when he pays; the
public when it applauds us; 'pretty and kind
women, the spring, if it is warm; people, when
they are happy — all that is beautiful pleas-
ant and smiling; while tiresome things are all
those that are ugly: cares, tears, suffering,
poverty, old age and cold. ..."
"Who is that yotmg lady over there?"
inquired the coimselor, pointing to Janina
who was listening attentively to the rehearsal.
"A novice."
"She has an engaging expression. Her
face shows good breeding and intelligence.
Do you know who she is? ... "
"Wicek!" called Cabinska to the boy who
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134 The Comedienne
was playing about the garden, *'go and ask
that lady, standing near the box, to come
here."
Wicek ran over to Janina circled about her,
glanced into her eyes and said: ''The old
woman over there wishes to see you/'
''What old woman? . . . Who? ..." she
asked, tmable to tmderstand him.
"Cabinska, Mrs. Pepa, the directress, of
course! ..."
Janina approached slowly, while the cotm-
selor observed her intently.
"Please have a seat, mademoiselle. This
is our dear coimselor, the patron of our
theater," spoke Cabinska, introducing him.
"I beg your pardon!" cried the coimselor,
grasping her hand and turning the palm to the
light.
"Don't be afraid, Miss Orlowska! . . .
The coimselor has an innocent mania of for-
tune telling," cried Cabinska merrily, peering
over the shoulder of the counselor into the
palm he was examining.
"Ho! ho! a strange one, a strange one!"
whispered the old man.
He took from his pocket a small magnif ying-
glass and through it examined minutely the
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The Comedienne 135
lines of the palm, the fingernails, the finger
joints, and the entire hand.
''Ladies and gentlemen! We tell fortimes
here from the hands, the feet, and something
else besides! . • • Here we predict the futtire,
and dispense talent, virtue, and money in the
future. Admission only five copecks, only five
copecks! ... for the poorer people only ten
groszy! Please step in, ladies and gentlemen,
please step in!" cried Wawrzecki, excellently
imitating the voice of the show criers on
Ujazdowski Square.
The actors and actresses surroimded the trio
on all sides.
"Tell us something, Mr. Coimselor!"
*' Will she marry soon? "
"When will she eclipse Modrzejewska? "
"Will she get a rich hubby?"
"How many suitors has she had in the
past?"
The counselor did not answer, but quietly
continued to examine both of Janina's palms.
She heard those derisive remarks, but was
unable to move, for that strange man actually
held her pinned to her seat. She felt herself
burning with anger, yet could not move her
hands which he held.
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136 The Comedienne
Finally, the cotinselor released her and said
to those stUTOunding them: ''For once you
might refrain from your clownishness, for
sometimes it is not so foolish as it is inhtmian.
I beg yotir pardon, mademoiselle, for having
exposed you to their rudeness; ... I greatly
beg your pardon, but I simply could not resist
examining your hands; that is my weak-
ness. ..."
He kissed her hand ostentatiously and
turned to the surprised Cabinska: ''Come, let
us go, Mrs. Directress!"
Janina was consumed with such curiosity,
that, in spite of all those spectators, she asked
quietly: ''Will you not tell me anything Mr.
Coimselor?"
The counselor gazed about him, and then
bent toward Janina and whispered very
quietly: "Now, I cannot ... In two weeks,
when I return, I will tell you all."
"Oh come. Counselor!" cried Cabinska,
"Oh, I almost forgot! . . . Will it be possible
for you to come to see me after the rehearsal
Miss Orlowska? " she asked, turning to Janina.
"Certainly, I'll come," answered Janina,
resuming her seat.
"Where shall we go, Madame Directress?"
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The Comedienne i37
asked the counselor. He seemed less jovial,
and wrapt in thought.
''I suppose we might go to my pastry
shop."
Cabinska did not question him, and only
after they had seated themselves at the pastry
shop, where she regularly spent a few hours
each day, drinking chocolate, smoking ciga-
rettes, and gazing at the street crowds, did she
venture to ask him with a pretended indiffer-
ence: **What did you notice in that hussy's
hands, Mr. Cotmselor?'*
The cotmselor shifted impatiently, put his
binoculars upon his nose, and called to the
waiter, ** Black coffee and very light choco-
late!"
Then he turned to Cabinska. "You see,
that is a secret ... to be sure, one that
means little, but nevertheless, not my own to
disclose."
Cabinska insisted, for merely to say: '*a
secret," throws all women out of balance; but
he told her nothing, only remarking abruptly,
*'I am leaving town, Mrs. Directress."
"Where are you going?" she inquired,
greatly surprised.
'I must . . ." he said, " I will return in two
ti^
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138 The ComMenne
weeks. Before I go, I would like to settle
our . • ."
Cabinska frowned and waited to hear what
he would say further.
''For you see, it might happen that I would
return only in the fall when you will no longer
be in Warsaw."
*'I surmised long ago that you were an old
usurer," Cabinska was thinking, tinkling her
glass with a spoon.
''Some frtdt cakes!" he called to the waiter
and then, turning to her again, continued . . •
"And that is why I wish to return to you, dear
lady, your bracelet."
"But we have not yet the money. Our
success is continually being interrupted . . .
we have so many old payments to meet ..."
"Oh, don't bother about the money.
Imagine that I am giving you this for your
name day as a small token of friendship . . .
will you? " he asked, slipping the bracelet upon
her plump wrist.
"Oh, Counselor, Cotmselor! if I did not love
my John so much, I would ..." she cried,
overjoyed at regaining her bracelet without
any obligations. She squeezed his hands so
heartily and beamed upon him with her joyous
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The Comedienne 139
gaze so closely, that he felt her breath upon
his cheeks.
He gently pushed her aside, biting his lips.
*'Ah, Counselor, you are an ideal man!"
"Oh, let us drop that! . . . You can
invite me to be a godfather to your next
child."
''Oh, you're a rogue, Mr. Counselor! . . .
What's that? . . . you already want to
depart?"
"My train leaves in two hours. Good-
bye!"
He paid the bill at the buffet and hurried
away, sending her a smile through the window.
Cabinska still sat there, gazing out upon the
street.
"Is it possible that he loves me?"
she thought to herself, sipping her cooled
chocolate.
She pulled some r61e out of her pocket, read
a few lines, and again gazed out upon the
street.
The dilapidated hacks, pulled by lean
horses, dragged along lazily; the tramways
rumbled by; along the sidewalks people
threaded like a long, immovable ribbon.
The clock chimed three. Cabinska arose
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140 The Comedienne
and started for home, walking slowly until
she spied the editor walking with Nicolette
and the calm horizon of her mind suddenly
became clouded.
'*He, with Nicolette? . . . with that . . .
base intriguer? "
Already from a distance she scorched them
with the gaze of a Gorgon.
At the corner of Warecka Street, Nicolette
suddenly disappeared and the editor ap-
proached her with a beaming countenance.
"Good morning! . . ."he cried, extending
his hand.
Pepa measured him coolly and turned her
face away.
"What sort of nonsense is this, Pepa?" he
asked, quietly.
*/0h, you are tmspeakably mean!" she
retorted.
"A comedy of some kind again? ..." he
queried.
"You dare to speak to me in that way?"
"Well ... Ill quit then and merely say:
good-day!" he snapped back angrily, bowed
stiffly and, before she could bethink herself,
jumped into a hack and drove away.
Cabinska was petrified with indignation.
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The Comedienne 141
Cabinska, on returning home whipped the
children, scolded the nurse, and locked herself
in her room.
She heard her husband enter, askf or her, and
knock at her door ; when dinner was served, she
did not come out, but paced angrily up and
down her room.
Soon thereafter, Janina arrived. Cabinska
greeted her cordially in her boudoir, becom-
ing suddenly unrecognizably hospitable.
Janina left alone, began to explore that
boudoir with ctiriosity , for, although the entire
house looked like a junk shop, or a railroad
waiting-room of the third class, filled with
packs, valises and tnmks, this one room
possessed an almost luxurious air. It had
two windows opening upon the garden, the
walls were decorated with a paper resembling
brocatelle, and cupids were painted on the
ceiling. The grotesquely carved furniture
was upholstered with crimson silk striped with
gold. A cream-colored rug in imitation of
antique Italian covered the floor. A set of
Shakespeare, botmd in gilded morocco lay on a
lacquered table painted in Chinese designs.
Janina did not pay much attention to all
this, for she was entirely absorbed by the
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142 The Comedienne
wreaths hanging on the walls which bore such
inscriptions as these: ''To otir companion on
the occasion of her birthday," ''To a distin-
guished artist," "From the grateful public,"
"To the Directress — ^from the Company,"
"From the admirers of your talent." The
laurel branches and palm leaves were yellow
and shnmken from age and hung there cov-
ered with dust and cobwebs. The broad
white, yellow, and red ribbons streamed down
the walls like separate colors of the rainbow
with their gold-stamped letters proclaiming
glories that had long since passed into oblivion.
Those inscriptions and withered wreaths gave
the room the appearance of a mortuary
chapel.
Janina was looking through an albtmi, when
Cabinska quietly entered. Her face wore an
expression of suffering and melancholy; she
dropped down heavily into a chair, sighed
deeply and whispered, "Pardon me for letting
you bore yourself here."
"Oh I didn't feel a bit bored!"
' ' This is my sanctuary. Here I lock myself
up when Hfe becomes unbearable. I come
here to recall a happy past and to dream of
that which will never more return ..." she
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The Comedienne i43
added, indicating the r61es and the wreaths
hanging on the walls.
''Are you ill, Madame Directress? . . .
perhaps I am intruding, and solitude is the
best medicine." Janina spoke with sincere
sympathy.
''Oh, please stay! ... It affords me real
relief to speak with a person who is, as yet,
a stranger to this world of falsehood and
vanity!" she said with emphasis, as though
reciting a r61e.
"I don't know whether I am worthy of
your confidence," answered Janina modestly.
"Oh, my artistic intuition never deceives
me! • . . I pray you sit nearer to me! So
you have never before been in the theater,
mademoiselle?"
"No."
"How I envy you! . . • Ah, if I could
begin over again, I would not know all this
bitterness and disappointment! Do you love
the theater?"
"I have sacrificed almost everything for it."
"Oh, the fate of artists is a sad one! One
must sacrifice all; peace, domestic happiness,
love, family, and friends — and for what? . . .
for that which they write about us; for such
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144 The Comedienne
wreaths that last only a few days; for the
handclaps of the tiresome throng. . . . Oh,
beware the provinces, mademoiselle! . . .
Look at me . . . Do you see those wreaths?
. . . They are splendid and withered, are they
not? And yet, not so long ago I played at
Lwow, ..."
She paused for a moment as though fas-
cinated by the memory of those days.
* ' The stages of the whole world were open to
me. The director of the Comedie Frangaise
came purposely to see me and offer me an
engagement. ..."
''You possess also a mastery of French,
madame?"
** Do not interrupt me. I was paid a salary
of several thousand rubles; the papers could
not find words strong enough to praise my
acting; I was pelted with flowers and brace-
lets set with diamonds! (She unconsciously
adjusted her cheap bracelet.) Cotmts and
princes courted my favors. . . . Then came
a great misfortvme which changed everything;
I fell in love . . . Yes, do not wonder at that!
I loved, as deeply as it is possible to love, the
most beautiful and best man in the whole
world. ... He was a nobleman, a prince
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The Comedienne 145
and heir to a large estate. We were about to
be married. I cannot tell you how happy we
were! . • . Then . . . like a bolt from the
blue sky ... his family, the old prince, a
tyrannical magnate without a heart parted
us. . . . He took him away and wanted to
pay me a hundred thousand guldens or even a
million, if only I would renotmce my beloved.
I threw the money at his feet and showed him
the door. He avenged himself cruelly. He
spread the most dishonorable caltminies about
me, bribed the press, and persecuted me at
every step, the base wretch! ... I had to
leave Lwow and my life took an entirely
different turn . . . a different turn ..."
Cabinska paced up and down the room,
tears in her eyes, love in her smile, a sad
bitterness upon her lips, a tragic mask of
resignation upon her face, forisaken, violent
grief in her voice.
She acted the tale with such mastery that
Janina believed everything.
''If you knew how sincerely I sympathize
with you, madamel . • • What a dreadful
fate!"
"That is already past! ..." answered
Cabinska, dropping into her chair.
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146 The Comedienne
She herself had come almost to believe in
those stories, retold with numerous variations
a hundred times over to all those who were
willing to listen. Sometimes, on ending her
accoimt, moved by the picture of that fancied
misfortvme, she would actually suffer.
Cabinska had acted the parts of so many
tmfortvmate and betrayed women that she
had already lost all memory of the botmds of
her own individuality; her own emotions
became merged and identified in ever greater
degree with the characters which she imper-
sonated, and thus it happened that her fanciful
tales were not downright lies.
After a long silence, Cabinska asked in a
calm voice, *'You live at Mrs. Sowinska's,
mademoiselle?"
"Not yet," answered Janina, *'I have
already rented the room, but they have to
renovate it. In the meanwhile, I am living
at the hotel."
"Kaczkowska and Halt told me that you
play the piano very well."
"A little bit."
**I wanted to ask you, if you would not
teach my Yadzia? . . . She is a very bright
girl and has a good ear for music."
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The Comedienne 147
"With real pleastire. My knowledge is
rather limited, but I can teach yotir daughter
the rudiments of music. . . . Only, I don't
know whether I will have enough time. . . •"
*'0h, certainly! And as to your fee, we
shall include that in your salary.'*
"Very well. ... Is your daughter already
started?"
"Excellently. You can convince yourself
immediately. . . . Nurse, bring Yadzia
here!" called Cabinska.
They passed into the next room in which j
stood the director's bed, a few packs and >-
baskets, and an old rattle-box of a piano. ;
Janina heard Yadzia play and agreed that
she would give her lessons regularly between
two and three o'clock in the afternoon, when
her parents were not at home.
"When are you to make your first appear-
ance at the theater?" asked Cabinska.
"To-day, in the Gypsy Baron''
"Have you a costume?"
"Miss Falkowska promised to loan me
one."
"Come with me. . . . Perhaps I'll find
something for you. ..."
They went into the room where the children
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148 The Comedienne
slept with the ntirse. Cabinska pulled out of
a package a fairly well-preserved costume
and gave it to Janina.
''You see, mademoiselle, we furnish the
costumes, but since the members of the com-
pany prefer to have their own, because ours, of
course, cannot be so very elegant, ours often
lie here unused. • . . I will loan you this
one.
''I also will have my own."
''That is best."
They took leave of each other very cordially
and the nurse carried Janina's costume after
her to the hotel.
With such passionate eagerness did Janina
anticipate her first appearance on the stage,
that she arrived at the theater when there was
hardly anyone as yet behind the scenes. The
chorus girls assembled slowly and dressed
even more slowly. Conversation, laughter,
subdued whisperings went on as usual, but she
heard nothing, so preoccupied was she with
her dressing.
They all began to help her, laughing because
she did not even have powder or rouge.
"What, you never powdered yourself?"
they chorused.
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The Comedienne 149
"No . . . What for? . . ." she an-
swered simply.
"We'll have to make her a face, for she's too
pale," remarked one of them.
They rubbed her face with a layer of white
cosmetic, shaded this with rouge, carmined her
Hps, tmderscored her eyes with a little pencil
dipped in black pigment, and curled and
piimed her hair. She was passed on from
hand to hand and given a thousand advices
and waming3.
"On entering the stage look straight at the
public, so that you don't trip."
"And before you enter, see that you cross
yourself."
"Always enter with your right foot fore-
most."
"Now you look fine! . . . but do you want
to appear on the stage in short skirts without
wearing tights? "
"I haven't any! ..."
All began to laugh at her embarrassed look.
"I will loan you a pair," cried Zielinska.
"I think they'll fit you." They treated her
with undisguised favor, for they had heard
that she was to teach Cabinska's daughter and
that Pepa had loaned her a costimie.
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Janina, looking in the mirror, hardly recog-
nized herself. It seemed as though she wore
a mask, only slightly resembling her own face
and with that strange expression that all the
chorus girls wore.
She went downstairs to Sowinska.
" My dear madame, tell me truly, how do I
look?" she begged, all excited and flushed.
Sowinska scrutinized her from all sides and,
with her finger, spread the rouge more thor-
oughly on her cheeks. ^
"Who gave you that costume?" she asked.
"Madame Directress loaned it to me."
"Oh! something must have melted her to-
day!"
"She told me such sad stories. ..."
"The actress! ... if she only played that
way on the stage there would be no better in
the world."
"You must be joking, madame! . . . She
told me about Lwow and her past."
"She's a liar, that old hag! She was then
the sweetheart of some hussar and made such
scandals that they turned her out of the theater.
What was she at the Lwow theater? ... a
chorus girl only. Ho ! ho ! those are old tricks.
. . . We all know them here long since!"
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The Comedienne 151
*'Tell me how I look?" asked Janina at
length.
"Beautiful. ... I'll wager they'll all be
chasing after you!"
An increasing nervousness seized Janina.
She walked up and down the stage, peered
through the hole in the curtain, viewed herself
in all the mirrors, and then tried to sit still and
wait, but could not endure it. The feverish
excitement and nervousness attendant upon
a first appearance shook her as with the ague.
She could not stand or sit still for a single
moment.
It seemed as though she did not see the
people, the preparations that were going on
about her, the lights, or even the stage itself,
but only had in her brain the reflection of a
confused and moving mass of eyes and faces.
At each moment she would gaze with terror
at the audience and feel as though her heart
were ceasing to beat.
When the bell rang for the second time, she
hurried off the stage and took her place in the
chorus that was already assembled behind the
scenes; while waiting for the moment to enter,
she unconsciously crossed herself, and her
whole body trembled so violently that one of
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152 The Comedienne
the chorus girls, noticing her confusion, took
her by the arm.
"Enter!'' shouted the stage-director. The
throng carried her along with it and pushed
her to the front of the stage.
The sudden silence and magnified glare of
light restored her senses somewhat, and after
leaving the stage she stood, behind one
of the scenes and completely regained her
composure.
On her second entrance she felt only a slight
tremor. She sang, heard the music, and gazed
straight at the public. She was also embold-
ened by seeing the editor sitting in the front
row and encouraging her with a friendly smile.
She kept looking at him and after that she
was able to distinguish with increasing clear-
ness individual faces in the audience.
In some scene in which the chorus prom-
enaded about the back of the stage, while
a comic dialogue was going on at the front,
Janina's companions indulged in whispered
conversations.
"Brona, look! Your fellow is there in the
third row toward the left."
"Oh look! Dasha is in the theater . . .
goodness, how she is dolled up. ..."
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**Siwinska! fasten my hooks, for I feel my
skirt is falling down."
*' Lou! your wig is coming off."
''Look to your own shags!"
*'I'm going to Marceline with someone
to-morrow . . . perhaps you will go with us,
Zielinska?"
"Look at the eyes that student is making
at me!"
"I don't care a snap for penniless plugs."
*'But what merry chaps they are!"
"No, thank you! They have nothing but
whiskey and sardines. That's a treat, only
for those of the street."
' ' Hush ! Cabinska is sitting in that box. ' '
"My gracious, what a maidenly make-up
she has to-day!"
"Quiet, we sing!"
Behind the scenes stood a great variety of
people: waitresses, stage-hands, restaurant
boys, and actors waiting for their cues to
enter — ^all these were gazing on the stage.
Cabinska's nurse, with the two eldest chil-
dren, was sitting near the prosceniimi under
the ropes of the curtain.
Wawrzecki from behind the scenes was
violently beckoning to Mimi who was just
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154 The Comedienne
then singing a duet with Wladek. In the
pauses, the actress would spitefully stick out
her tongue at him.
''Give me the key to the house ... I for-
got my shoes, and I need them right away!"
he whispered.
''It's in my skirt pocket in the dressing-
room," she answered, backing away toward
the center of the stage with a broad musical
phrase on her lips.
"Halt" was banging the desk with his
baton, for Wladek was cutting short his tones
and continually wavering. The threatening
anger of the orchestra director only made
him all the more nervous, and his singing was
growing steadily worse.
' ' The damned Hun is piuposely trying to trip
me!" he muttered angrily under his breath,
embracing the singing Mimi in the love scene.
' ' For God's sake don't squeeze me so hard ! "
panted Mimi, at the same time smiling at him
rapturously.
"For I adore you with the frenzy of love
... for I adore you!" sang Wladek with
fiery intonation.
"Are you crazy? I will be all black and
blue and ..."
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The Comedienne 155
She suddenly broke off, for Wladek had
finished his song and the applause came
roaring like an avalanche, so she pulled him
by the hand and they walked to the front of
the stage to bow to the audience.
During the intermission Janina observed
the editor standing in the center aisle, con-
versing with some stout, blond man.
'* Can you tell me, sir, with what paper that
editor is connected?" Janina asked the stage-
director, who was supervising the arrange-
ment of the scenery for the next act.
''With no paper, probably. He's merely a
theatrical critic."
''He told me himself that ..."
"Ha, ha!" laughed the stage-director, "I
see you're green!"
"But he is sitting in the chairs reserved for
the press," persisted Janina stating what she
thought was a convincing argument.
' ' What of that? There are more of his kind
there. Do you see that light blonde? He
alone is a real writer and the rest are merely
migratory birds. God alone knows what
their occupation is . . . but since they hob-
nob with everybody, talk a lot, have money
from somewhere, and occupy the foremost
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156 The Comedienne
places everywhere, no one even bothers asking
who they are."
'*Ah, you look so fascinating, so fascinat-
ing," cried the editor at that instant rushing in
upon the stage and already from a distance
extending his hands to her. **A veritable
portrait by Greuze! Only a little more
courage and everything will go smoothly.
I will insert an item to-morrow about your
first appearance on the stage."
"Thank you," she answered coolly, without
looking at him.
The editor turned about and made off for
the actors' dressing-room.
"Good evening, gentlemen!" he called
entering.
"How are things going in the hall? Were
you at the box office? ..."
"Nearly all the seats are sold out."
"How is the play taking?"
"Well, very well! ... I see, Mr. Director
that you have replenished the chorus: that
charming, new blonde attracts all eyes. ..."
"Good, good. . . . Hurry there, give me
my belly!"
" Mr. Director, please let me have an order
for two rubles. I must immediately send for
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The Comedienne 15 7
my boots," begged some actor, hastily pulling
on his costume.
"After the performance!" answered Cabin-
ski, holding the pillow to his stomach, "tie it
fast, Andy!"
They wrapt him about with long strips like
amimimy.
"Mr. Director, I need my boots on the
stage. . . . I cannot play without them!"
"Go to the devil, my dear sir, and don't
disturb me now. . . . Ring!" he called to the
stage-director.
Cabinski, whenever he played, created a big
confusion in the dressing-room. He always
suffered from stage fright, so he would try to
overcome it by shouting, scolding, and quar-
reling over every trifle. The costimier, the
tailor, the property man all had to hustle about
him and continually remind him lest he forget
something. Despite the fact that he always
commenced dressing early, he was always late.
Only on the stage did he recover his
equanimity.
Now it was the same; his cane had been
mislaid and he rushed about, wildly shouting:
"My cane! Who took my cane! . . . My
cane ! Damn it ! I must go right on ! " •
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158 The Comedienne
'* You snort like an elephant in the dressing-
room, but on the stage you buzz as quietly as a
fly, '' slowly remarked Stanislawski, who hated
all noises.
'* If you don't like to hear it, go out into the
hall."
** I'll stay right here, and I want quiet. No
one can dress in peace with you around."
''Podesta, to the stage!" called the stage-
director.
Cabinski ran out, grabbed a cane out of
somebody's hand, tied a black handkerchief
about his neck and rushed on the stage.
Stanislawski departed behind the scenes,
all the others dispersed, and the dressing-room
became deserted, only the tailor remaining
to gather up the costumes scattered over the
floor and tables and take them to the store-
room.
In the dressing-room of the leading ladies of
the caste such a storm had broken loose that
Cabinski, who was just leaving the stage, went
there to pour oil on the troubled waters.
As he entered, Kaczkowska threw herself
at him from one side and Mimi from the
other ; both grasped him by the hands and each
* sought to out-shout the other.
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The Comedienne 159
"If you allow such things to happen,
Director, I will leave the company! ..."
''It's a scandal, Director! . . . everybody
saw it. . . . I will not stay in her company
another hour!"
''Director! she ..."
"Now don't Ue!"
"It's insulting!"
"It's base and ridiculous ! "
"For God's sake! what's all this about?"
cried Cabinski in desperation.
"I will tell you how it happened, Director.
It
" It is I who ought to tell, for she is a liar! "
" Now my dears, please be qtiiet or I swear
I'll go right out."
"It was this way. I received a bouquet,
for it was most plainly intended for me, and
this . . . lady, who happened to be standing
nearer, cut me off and took my bouquet.
. . . And, instead of giving it to me, to whom
it belonged, she brazenly bowed and kept it for
herself!" cried Kaczkowska amid tears and
bursts of anger.
At that Mimi began to cry.
"Mimi, you will blur the paint under your
eyes!" called someone.
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Mimi immediately stopped crying.
"What do you ladies want me to do?"
asked Cabinski, when he f otmd an opportunity
to speak.
''Tell her to give me back that bouquet
and apologize."
"I can, but with my fist ..." retorted
Mimi. "You can ask the chorus, Director
. . . they all saw."
"The chorus from the fourth act!" called
Cabinski behind the scenes.
There entered a throng of women and men al-
ready half-undressed, and among them Janina.
"Well, let us arrange a judgment of
Solomon!"
An increasing nimiber of onlookers began to
crowd into the dressing-room and derisive
remarks, aimed at the generally disliked
Kaczkowska, flew about.
"Who saw to whom the bouquet was
given?" asked Cabinski.
"We weren't taking notice," all replied,
unwilling to incur the disfavor of either of
the contestants. Only Janina who detested
injustice, finally said: "The bouquet was given
to Miss Zarzecka. I stood beside her and
saw distinctly."
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' ' What does that calf want here ? She came
from the street and thinks she can interfere
in what's none of her business!" cried Kacz-
kowska.
Janina advanced, her voice hoarse with anger.
'* You have no right to insult me, madame!"
she cried. ''Do you hear! I haven't ever let
anyone insult me, nor will I ! "
A strange silence suddenly fell, for all were
impressed by the dignity and force of Janina's
words. She glared at Kaczkowska with glow-
ing eyes and then turned on her heel and left
the room.
Cabinski had fled to the box office after
hastily divesting himself of his costume.
''Whew! she's a sotmd nut, that new one."
"Kaczkowska will never forgive her
that ..."
"What can she do? . . . Miss Orlowska has
the backing of the management."
Mimi, immediately after the play, went to
the dressing-room of the chorus where she
found Janina still agitated.
"How good you are!" cried the actress
effusively.
"What I did was right . . . that's all,"
Janina replied.
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i62 The Comedienne
''Take a trip with us to Bielany, won't
you?" begged Mimi.
''When? . . . And who are going?"
"We're going within the next few days.
There will be Wawrzecki, I, a certain author,
a very jolly chap, whose play we are to pre-
sent, Majkowska, Topolski and you. You
must come with us!"
After lengthy persuasions and kisses, which
Janina received indifferently, she finally
agreed to accompany them.
They waited for Wawrzecki and afterwards
all went together to a pastry shop for tea,
taking with them also Topolski, who there
composed a circular addressed to the whole
company requesting them to appear without
fail at the morrow's rehearsal, punctually at
ten o'clock.
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CHAPTER V
For Cabinski all days on which there was
a performance were important days, but only
three days were extraordinary: Christmas
Eve, Easter Day, and . . . the name day of his
wife which fell on the 19th of July, sacred to
St. Vincent de Paul. On those three days
the director and his wife would hold a recep-
tion on a grand scale.
Cabinski the miser would vanish, and in his
place would appear Cabinski the munificent,
dispensing hospitality after the ancient cus-
tom of the Polish nobility, while certain
deeply hidden hereditary cells of lavishness
opened up in his ego. The guests were
received and f 6ted generously and no expense
was spared. And, if later, as a result of this,
advances on salaries were smaller for a month
or so, their deferment more frequent, and the
director's complaints of a deficit more numer-
ous, hardly anyone minded, for all enjoyed
163
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themselves to the utmost, partictilarly on the
name day of the directress.
Cabinska's Christian name was Vincentine,
but none bothered their heads about why her
husband called her ''Pepa," for nobody was
interested to that extent.
In accordance with the annotmcement of
Topolski, the company assembled punctually
for the rehearsal. They were to play The
Martyr by D'Ennery, in which the title role,
one of the showiest and most lachrjnnose
in her repertory, was invariably acted each
year by the directress. She played it really
well, putting into it her entire store of tears
and vocal lamentations, and had the deep
satisfaction of thrilling the public.
Those name day performances were usually
a real benefit for all kinds of novices, for the
caste was purposely made up of the poorest
players so that the acting of Pepa might there-
by shine forth more effectively.
Cabinska went direct to the stage without
speaking to anyone and during the entire
rehearsal wore on her face an expression of
tender emotion and absorption. At the end
of the rehearsal the entire company gathered
about her and Topolski came forward. Cabin-
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The Comedienne 165
ska modestly lowered her eyes and, pretending
to be surprised, waited.
''Allow me, esteemed Directress to extend
to you in the name of yotir fellow-actors and
actresses their most cordial felicitations on the
occasion of your name day and to wish you
with all our hearts that you may continue to
remain for a long time the ornament of our
stage and a blessing to your husband and
children. In grateful appreciation of your
artistic services and your companionship, the
company begs you, my dear madame, to
accept this humble token of our affection
which is only a poor return for your goodness
and kind-heartedness. ' '
Topolski ended and handed her an open
case in which was a set of sapphire gems
bought from the contributions of the whole
company. He kissed her hand and stepped
aside.
Then all began to approach Cabinska sepa-
rately; the men kissed her hands, while the
women threw themselves on her neck with
protestations of friendship and good wishes.
Wladek, who had been the first to pay his
tribute at hand-kissing, drew Topolski aside
behind the scenes.
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i66 The Comedienne
''Spit out the dregs of that congratulatory
tommyrot, or you'll poison yotirself with
such a big dose of hypocrisy."
''But it won't poison her."
"Bah! the sapphires cost one hundred and
twenty rubles; for so much money she can
listen a whole week."
"Thank you, thank you with my whole
heart! You put me to shame my dear com-
rades, for in truth I do not know what I have
done to merit so much kindness," said Cabin-
ska with emotion. Really, the sapphires
were very pretty.
The director smiled, rubbed his hands, and
invited all to his home after the performance.
The directress singled out for a particularly
effusive kiss Janina who, led by sjmipathy,
had brought her a lovely bouquet of roses,
explaining that she had not contributed to the
ftmd for the general gift as it was collected
before her advent into the company.
Cabinska would not part with Janina and
took her along with her to dinner.
"Truly, they must be very good people and
must love you," said Janina at the table.
" Once a year will not ruin them," answered
Cabinska merrily.
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The Comedienne 167
Together they went to the pastry shop so
as not to interfere with the preparations that
were being made for the evening reception.
She sat there relating to Janina the history of
her past name day celebrations with a tender
pathos which could not, however, disgtdse a
certain feeling of bitterness and uneasiness over
the fact that the editor had not even sent her
a card of greeting.
The performance was a real ovation. From
the public she received a mass of flowers, while
the editor sent her a big basket of them
together with an imposing bracelet.
That overwhelmed her. As soon as he
appeared behind the scenes, she drew him into
the darkest comer and kissed him with fiery
passion.
The Cabinski home presented an imusual
appearance. In the first room, in the middle
of a huge rug that completely covered the
dirty floor, was a circular stand bearing a
fan-shaped pahn, while two mirrors with
marble consoles stood in the comers. Heavy,
cherry-colored, velvet portieres were draped
over the windows and the doors. A clump of
azaleas and rhododendrons between the win-
dows formed an oasis of gorgeous greenery.
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i68 The Comedienne
accentuating the beautiful lines of a yellowish
plaster statue of Venus de Milo which stood
on a pedestal draped with purple cloth.
The piano at the ftirther end of the room,
decked with a garland of artificial flowers,
bore upon it a hiige golden tray stacked with
visiting cards. Four little tables with little
blue chairs surrotinding them were placed in
the most brilliantly lighted parts of the room.
The tarnished and chipped gilded frames of the
mirrors were skillfully masked with red muslin,
pinned artistically with flowers. The torn
wall paper was covered with pictures. The
whole salon presented so elegant and artistic
an appearance, that Cabinska, on returning
from the theater stood amazed and cried out
enthusiastically: ''A splendid scene! . . .
John you are a master-decorator!''
''Heavens! . . . it's as beautiful as in a
comedy!" added the nurse, crossing the salon
on tiptoe.
The second and larger room which ordina-
rily served the purpose of a store room,
crammed with scenic odds and ends, had now
been transformed into a dining room and
dazzled with its restaurant-like splendor: the
whiteness of its table covers, its polished
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The Comedienne 169
trays, its bouquets of flowers, its mass of
burnished dishes, and its formality.
Cabinska hardly had time to dress herself
in a stately lily-colored gown in which her
faded complexion, ruined by cosmetics, took
on a youthful expression and freshness, when
the company began thronging in. The ladies
retired to Cabinska's room adjoining the
boudoir, while the gentlemen left their street
attire in the kitchen divided in two by a
French wall painted in the style of Louis XV,
which had been brought from the stage.
Wicek, in theatrical livery that consisted
of boots witt yellow, cardboard tops, a blue
spencer a few sizes too big for him, decked with
red cord and a mass of gold buttons, helped
the actors to lay aside their wraps with a grave
and stiff mien, like a real groom from an
English comedy; but his roguish disposition
could not long endure the mood.
''What a monkey the director has made of
me, eh? My own mother wouldn't know me
in these duds. No doubt 111 have to pay for
it all by going without supper or absolution! ''
he whispered, smiling.
The ladies all in gala array, rouged and
charming, began to fill the room with a stiff
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170 The Comedienne
and icy atmosphere, sitting about immovable
and shy.
Janina arrived rather late, for she had a long
distance to come from her hotel, and wished
to dress carefiilly. She greeted everyone, and
her eyes wandered with a look of surprise over
the room, struck by the tone of solemnity that
reigned over all. Dressed in a cream-colored
silk gown shading off into heliotrope, with
gentians in her hair and corsage, tall and lithe,
with her rosy complexion and reddish-golden
hair, she looked very original and beautiful.
She possessed a great deal of grace and natural
distinction, and moved about with ease, as
though accustomed to the atmosphere of the
salon, while the rest of the company felt
tmnatural and constrained by the theatrical
elegance of their surroundings. They walked
about, conversed and smiled, as though they
were on the stage, playing some very difficult
r61e that demanded continual attention, One
could see that the very carpet imder their feet
restrained them, that they sat down with a
certain fear on the silk-lined chairs, that they
seemed to be merely passing through the
room, afraid to touch any of the objects about
them.
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The Comedienne 171
It was a festive reception with wine served
by the restaiirant waiters, and with trays of
cakes and liquetirs circulating about in ponder-
ous bottles. This only added to the restraint
of the ladies. They knew not how to eat or
drink gracefully, they feared to stain their
dresses and the furniture and feared also to
serve as the butt of ridicule for a few gentlemen
who were not at all impressed with this sham
elegance, and were gazing at them and making
spiteful remarks.
Majkowska, who to-day presented a truly
stately appearance in her light yellow dress
with a border of roses, with her black, almost
ebony hair, olive complexion, and classically
beautiful face — a, typical Veronese — ^took
Janina by the arm and gracefully promenaded
about the salon with her, casting proud glances
at those about them.
On the other hand, her mother, whom some
mischievous person had seated on a little
tabotiret, was imdergoing agonies. She had in
one hand a glassful of wine, in the other a tart
and a cake in her lap. She drank the wine and
was at a loss what to do with the glass. She
gazed pleadingly at her daughter, grew red in
the face, and finally asked Zielinska, who was
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172 The Comedienne
sitting near her: ''My dear lady, what shall I
do with this glass?*'
'.'Stand it under the chair."
The old woman did as she was advised.
Everyone began to laugh at her, so she picked
it up again and held it in her hand.
Old Mrs. Niedzielska, the mother of Wladek
and the owner of a house on Piwna Street, who
was always honored by the Cabinskis, sat
under the shade of the palm grove with
Kaczkowska, and continually followed her son
with her eyes.
The men in the dining room were, mean-
while, storming the buffet.
"Where do you get your everlasting humor,
Glas?*' asked Razowiec, who, although he
was the gloomiest actor in the company,
played the parts of the merriest rakes and the
ftmniest tmcles.
"That is a public secret. I do not worry,
and I have a good digestion," answered
Glas.
"You have precisely that which I am
lacking. . . . Do you know I tried the recipe
which you recommended, but got no results
. . . nothing will help me any more. I feel
certain that I shall not outlive this winter for
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The Comedienne 173
if my stomach does not pain me it is my
back, if it isn't my back then it's my heart, or
else this dreadf til pain passes into my neck and
racks my spine as with an iron rod."
''Imagination! Drink a cognac to me. . . .
Don't think of your illness and you'll be well."
''You laugh, but I tell you truly that I
can no longer sleep for whole nights at a
time. . . ."
"Imagination, I tell you! Drink a cognac
tome!"
" It is easy for those who have never suffered
to ridicule."
"I have suffered, my God, I have suffered.
. . . Drink a cognac to me! I once ate in
the restaurant 'Under the Star' such a cutlet
that I lay in bed a whole week after it and
writhed like an eel with pain."
They retired to the further end of the buffet
near the window and continued their conver-
sation. The one complained and lamented,
the other ceaselessly laughed, saying every
minute, "Drink a cognac to me!"
" Maurice,'* called Majkowska in a whisper,
lifting the portieres.
Topolski bent over toward her and she
murmured into his ear: "I love you! ... do
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174 The Comedienne
you know? ..." and she passed on, convers-
ing with Janina.
Throughout the salon formed small groups
of people conversing.
Cabinski kept running about continually,
inviting the guests to drink, pouring out the
liquors for them, and kissing everybody.
Pepa sat in the salon with the editor and
Kotlicki, who was one of the steady patrons of
the theater. She was relating something in a
lively and jovial tone, for the editor would
every now and then burst out in a discreet
laugh, while Kotlicki would contort into a
smile, his long equine face, and gather about
him his coat-tails. All that was known about
him was that he was rich and ennuied.
Kotlicki listened patiently enough, but,
at last, bending toward Cabinska, he asked
in a wooden, expressionless voice, "When
does the culminating act of to-day's perform-
ance begin — ^the supper?"
''Immediately . . . we are waiting only for
the owner of the house to arrive."
''No doubt the rent for the last quarter
must be unpaid, if you show her so much
consideration," he whispered ironically.
"You always see everything in the worst
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The Comedienne 175
light!" she answered, throwing a flower at
him.
''To-day I merely see that the directress is
fascinating, that Majkowska has the mien of a
lioness, and that the lady who is walking with
her . . . but who is she?"
''A newly engaged chorus girl."
''Well, I see that yonder aspirant to the
dramatic art is beautiful by virtue of her
originality and alone possesses more dis-
tinction than all the rest of them taken
together. Furthermore, I see that Mimi
to-day resembles a freshly baked roll, white
and round and rosy ; that Rosinska has the face
of a black poodle who has fallen into a bin of
flour and not yet succeeded in shaking it off,
and that her Sophie looks like a freshly washed
and combed little greyhotmd. Kaczkowska
looks like a frying pan covered with melted
butter; Mrs. Piesh like a hen seeking her
strayed chicks; and Mrs. Glas like a calf
enveloped in a rainbow. Where the dickens
did she get all those colors she wears? "
"You are a merciless mocker!"
"You can make me relent. Directress, by
hurrying the supper . . ."he answered and
became silent.
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176 The Comedienne
The directress began telling in detail about
a new joke that Majkowska had played on
Topolski. Kotlicki, listening to it, frowned
impatiently.
'* It is too bad that there is not a law which
would compel you ladies to pierce your tongues
instead of your ears," he said derisively,
enveloping himself in a cloud of cigar smoke
and observing Janina who was still promenad-
ing with Majkowska.
Both beamed with satisfaction, realizing the
attention they attracted. Janina's eyes were
joyous, and her crimson lips smiled charmingly
revealing her pearly teeth.
Wladek was engaged in some lengthy con-
versation with his mother and also followed
Janina with his eyes. Meeting the glances of
Kotlicki he turned away.
Shortly they were joined by Sophie Rosin-
ska, a fourteen-year old typical actor's child
with the long, thin mouth of a greyhound, a
pale complexion, and the large eyes of a ma-
donna. Her short, curled hair shook with
every motion of her head and her thin, narrow
lips fairly bit with their spitefulness as she
related something to Majkowska in her lively
voice.
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The Comedienne i77
''Sophie!" energetically called Mrs.
Rosinska.
Sophie left them and sat down beside her
mother, gloomy and sulky.
" I constantly keep tellingyounottohaveany-
thing to do with Majkowska ! ' ' whispered Rosin-
ska, adjusting the ciirls on her daughter's head.
"Don't bother me with your nonsense.
Mamma! ... I'm sick and tired of listening
to it! I like Miss Mela because she isn't a
scarecrow like those others," saucily prattled
Sophie and smiled with childish naivet6 at
Niedzielska, who was looking at her.
' ' Wait till we get home. I '11 fix you ! "
"All right, all right . . . we'll see about
that. Mother!"
Mrs. Rosinska turned to Stanislawski, who
sat beside her all the while and chatted with-
out drinking anything. She began to make
remarks about Majkowska, with whom she
was always on a war footing, for they had
almost the same repertory and Majkowska
had, in addition, talent, youth, and beauty,
none of which Rosinska possessed. Rosinska
hated all young women, for in each she now
saw a rival and a thief stealing her r61es and
her favor with the public.
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178 The Comedienne
Lately she had become intimate with
Stanislaw^ for she felt that something similar
was happening to him. He never spoke to
her about it, nor ever complained, but now,
when he bent toward her his thin, waxen face
all seamed with wrinkles as fine as hairs, his
yellowish eyes glowed gloomily.
''Did you notice how Cabinska played
to-day?" she asked him.
''Did I notice?'' answered Stanislawski,
"I see that every day. I know long ago
what they are . . . long ago! What is
Cabinski himself? ... A clown and tight-
rope walker who in our days would not even
have been permitted to play the part of a
lackey! . . . And Wladek! he's an artist, is
he? ... A beast who makes a public house
of the stage! ... He plays only for his
mistresses! His noblemen are shoemakers
and barbers, while his barbers and shoemakers
are loafers from the water front. . . What do
they introduce on the stage? . . . Hooligans,
the street, slang and mud. . . . And what is
Glas? ... A drunkard in life, which is a
minor consideration, but it is not permissible
for a true artist to wander about taverns with
the most disgusting hoodlums; it is not per-
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The Comedienne i79
missible for a true artist to introduce on the
stage the hiccoughs of a drunkard and vulgar
brutality. . . . Take Ziolkowski's The Mas-
ter and the Apprentice for instance: there you
have a type, a finished type of a dnmkard
presented in broad and classical outlines;
there is gesture and pose and mimicry, but
there is also nobility. What does Glas make
of that r61e? ... He makes a filthy, repul-
sive, drunken shoemaker of the lowest order.
That is their art! . . . And Piesh? . . .
Piesh is also not much better, although he
bears the stamp of a good artist . . . but his
acting is a miserable and an everlasting botch;
he has a htimor on the stage, like that of
fighting dogs, but not himian and noble . . .
and not ours! . . .''
He became silent a moment and rubbed his
eyes with his long skinny hand with thin,
knotty fingers.
''And Krzykiewicz? . . . and Wawrzecki?
. . . and Razowiec? . . . perhaps they are
artists, eh? . . . Artists! . . . Do you re-
member Kalacinski? . . . He was an art-
ist! Or Krzensinski, Stobinski, Felek, and
Chelchowski? . . . Those were artists who
could bring down the house! • , • What are
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otir actors compared with them? ..." he
asked encompassing with an inimical glance
the company about them. "What is this
band of shoemakers, tailors, paper hangers,
barbers? . . . Comedians, ragamuffins, and
clowns! . . . Bah! art is going to the dogs.
In a few more years when we are gone, they
will make of the stage a barroom, a circus, or a
storage warehouse.
''Do you hear? . . . they give me half-
sheet r61es of old men and old nincompoops,
tome! . . . do you hear? . . . tome, who for
forty years have upheld the entire classical
repertory — to me ! Oh ! oh ! " he hissed quietly
tearing his finger nails convulsively. ' ' Topol-
ski! . . . Topolski alone has a talent, but
what does he do with it? . . . A bandit, a
Singalese, who goes into epileptic fits on the
stage, who is ready to put a barn on the stage
if those new authors require it. They call
that realism, while in truth it is nothing but
roguery! ..."
"And the women? . . . you forget the
women, sir! . . . Who plays the parts of
sweethearts and heroines? . . . Who is in the
chorus? . . . scrub-women and barmaids,
who have made of the theater a screen for
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The Comedienne i8i
their licentiousness. But that's nothing . . .
the directors want that; what do they care if
these women possess neither talent, intelli-
gence nor beauty! . . . They give them the
most important r61es. They act the parts of
heroines and look like chambermaids or like
those who walk the streets! . . . But what
do the directors care as long as the business
keeps going and the box office is sold out . . .
that's all they care about!" She spoke
rapidly and the blood rushed to her face so
violently that she became all red, in spite of
the thick layer of powder and cream.
The stage-director, who was once the cele-
brated hero of a few theaters, and old Mirow-
ska who was still retained only as a favor
because of her old age and brilliant past
completed the camp of the veterans of the old
actors' guard, who had fought in other times,
and looked upon the present with gloomy eyes.
They stood beneath the bridge of a sinking
ship, hence no one even heard their cries of
despair.
Kotlicki beckoned to Wladek and made
room for him beside himself.
Wladek in passing Janina cast a glance
of fiery passion at her, and then sat down
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near Kotlicki, rubbing his knee which both-
ered him whenever he sat for any length of
time.
'* Rheumatism is already there, eh? . . .
while fame and money are still far away! . . ."
Kotlicki began mockingly.
'*0h, the deuce take fame! . . . Money I
wouldn't mind having ..."
''Do you think you will ever get it?"
''I will . . . my faith in that is unfailing!
At times it seems to me as though I already
felt it in my pocket."
' ' That's true. Your mother owns a house. ' '
"And six children and a pile of debts as high
as the chimney! . . . No, not that! ... I
will get the money elsewhere ..."
''In the meanwhile, according to your old
custom you borrow it wherever you can, eh? "
Kotlicki mocked on.
"Oh, don't fear. I'll return yours this
month yet, without fail."
"I will wait even imtil the reappearance of
the comet of 1812; it will pass this way again
in about a year. ..."
"Don't mock me. . . . You'd not hurt
people as much with a club as you do with
your cynicism."
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The Comedienne 183
"That's my weapon!" answered Kotlicki,
contracting his brows.
''Perhaps, before long, I shall marry and
then I will pay up all my debts. ..."
KotUcki tximed violently towards him,
glanced straight into his eyes and began to
laugh with his quiet, neighing voice, screwing
his face into a grimace.
''That is the finest piece of invention that I
have ever heard ! "
"No, I seriously intend to marry and have
already selected something : a brownstonehouse
and a girl of twenty, a light blonde, pltmip,
graceful and resolute. . . . If my mother helps
me, I shall marry before this season is over."
"And what of the theater?"
"I will organize a company of my own."
KotUcki laughed again.
"Your mother is too sensible and I am sure
that she will not let herself be caught on that
hook, my dear! . . . Why are you ogling
that beauty in the cream-colored dress so
persistently, eh?"
"Oh she's a cocoanut of a woman! "
"Yes, but that cocoanut is too hard for your
weak teeth. You won't crack it, and you're
likely to lose a tooth in trying. ..."
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i84 The Comedienne
"Do you know what the savages do? . . .
When they haven't a knife or a stone handy,
they light a fire, put the cocoanut in it, and the
heat bursts it open ..."
*' And when there is no fire to be had, what
then? . . . You don't answer me, my clever
chap? . . . Then I'll tell you: when there is
no fire to be had, they content themselves
with gazing on the cocoanut, consoling them-
selves with the thought that someone else
will show them how to do it."
Their conversation was interrupted by the en-
trance of the owner of the house. A confused
murmur arose from those assembled. Cabinska
went forward to greet her with extended hand
and the mien of resplendent majesty.
"It is a pleasure to meet you! . . a real
pleasure!" she announced with a faint smile,
condescendingly . extending her hand to the
persons whom Cabinska introduced to her.
She sought to appear coldly indifferent, while
in reality she had been dying from curiosity
ever since the morning to view these noted
women about whom she had heard so much.
Cabinski approached her smiling, with wine
and cakes in his hand, but Pepa was already
inviting all to sit down to supper.
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The Comedienne 185
The landlady excused herself for being late,
but her thin voice was drowned amid the
hubbub of the guests seating themselves at
the table. She was given an honorary place
between Pepa, Majkowska, and the editor.
Kotlicki seated himself at the end of the table
alongside of Janina, while Wladek wedged
himself in between Janina and Zielinska
After a toast pronounced by the editor in
honor of the celebrant, conversation burst
forth like a cascade and with imrestrained
flow filled the entire room. All began to talk
at the same time, to laugh and to joke.
Inebriation began to envelop all brains in a
rosy mist of merriment and to weave joy
aroimd all hearts.
In the middle of the supper the doorbell
rang violently.
''Who can that be?" asked Cabinska.
''Nurse, go and open the door!"
The nurse was busy about a side table where
the children were eating; she went immedi-
ately to open the door.
"Who came?" inqtiired Cabinska.
"Oh, nobody! Only that' unchristened
little goldfish!" she answered scornfully.
Those sitting nearest burst out laughing.
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i86 The Comedienne
' ' Ah, yes. Otir dear and invaluable Gold ! ' '
Gold entered and bowed to the company,
tugging at his sparse, yellow little beard.
*'How are you, goldfish?"
"Hey there. Treasurer! Oh pearl of treas-
urers, come over to us."
The treasurer bowed, paying no attention
to the jibes that were hurled at him.
* ' Mrs. Directress will pardon me for coming
late, but my family lives in the Jewish quarter
and I really had to stay with them till the end
of the Sabbath," he explained to Cabinska.
''Have a seat, sir. If you can't eat, you're
at least allowed to drink," invited Cabinski,
making room for Gold alongside himself.
Gold located himself careftilly and began to
eat. When the company had forgotten him a
bit, he ventured to address them:
"I have brought you the latest news, for I
see no one knows it, as yet. ..."
He took a newspaper from his side pocket
and began to read aloud : " Miss Snilowska, the
noted and talented artist of the provincial
theaters, playing imder the pseudonym of
'Nicolette' has received permission to make
her d6but in the Warsaw Theater. She will
make her first appearance next Tuesday in
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The Comedienne 187
Sardou's Odette. We hope that the manage-
ment, in engaging Miss Snilowska, has added
a very valuable acquisition to the stage."
He folded away the paper and calmly con-
tinued to eat. The company was struck
dtmib with amazement.
*'Nicolette on the Warsaw stage! . . . Nic-
olette making her d6but! . . . Nico-
ette! ..." they whispered with subdued
voices.
Everybody began to look at Majkowska and
Pepa, but both were silent.
Majkowska's face wore a scornful expression
while Pepa, imable to conceal the anger that
raged within her, tore distractedly at the lace
on her sleeves.
"No doubt she is now blessing that intrigue
that caused her to leave us, for it helped
instead of harming her," said someone.
"Or else it was her talent that helped her! "
intentionally added Kotlicki.
"Talent?" cried Cabinska, "Nicolette and
talent ! Ha ! ha ! ha ! Why she could not even
play a chambermaid on our stage!"
"Nevertheless in the Warsaw Theater she
will play the second-best roles," interposed
Kotlicki.
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i88 The Comedienne
"The Warsaw Theater! The Warsaw
Theater! That is a still poorer show than
ours!" added Glas.
''Ho! ho! what do the Warsaw Theater and
its actors amount to! . . . Noching great, to
be sure!" shouted Krzykiewicz, all flushed
with drinking as he filled the landlady's
glass with wine.
''Only pay us such salaries as their actors
get, and you will see who we are!'* called
Piesh.
"That's true! Piesh is right. Who can
think only of art when his rent is in arrears? "
"That's a falsehood! That would mean
that you could make an artist of any swine-
herd whom you fed," called Stanislawski
across the table.
"Poverty is a fire that bums rubbish, but
the true metal only comes out of it all the
purer," quickly said Topolski.
"Nonsense! It comes out not purer, but
only more sooty, and afterwards the rust
devours it all the more quickly. A bottle is
worth something not because it may have
once contained the choicest Tokay, but
because it's now full of brandy!" stammered
Glas in a drunken voice.
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The Comedienne 189
"The Warsaw Theater! My God! with
the exception of two or three persons it's full
of the sctim of the profession which the pro-
vinces no longer could stand.'*
*'Just let the press give us the support it
gives them, let it insert half a column daily
about us and roimd up the public for us each
day as it does for them! ..."
''Well, what then? . . . Even at that
you'd remain nothing but Wawrzecki!"
sneered Kotlicki.
"Yes, but the public would come and see
that Wawrzecki is not a bit worse and perhaps
a great deal better actor than those patented
celebrities."
"Let me speak!" whimpered Glas, vainly
trying to rise from his chair and steady
himself.
"The public! . . . the public is a flock of
sheep which rims where it is driven by the
shepherds."
"Don'tsay that, Topolski ..."
" Don't try to deny it, Kotlicki! I tell you
that the public is a pack of fools, but its leaders
axe even greater fools!"
"Let me speak," mumbled Glas in a voice
that was already growing inaudible, while he
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leaned on the table and gazed at the candles
with hazy eyes.
''Glas, go to sleep, for you're drunk," said
Topolski sharply.
''I am drunk? ... I am dnmk? . . ."
stuttered Glas, his face as ruddy as the dawn.
The wine and liquors circulated more freely,
and the guests began shifting their seats.
Wladek seated himself between Majkowska
and the landlady, embarking on a flirtation
with the latter. Mimi, growing exhilarated,
approached Kaczkowska, with whom she had
already exchanged glances and friendly words
across the table. They now sat close together,
holding each other about the waist like the
sincerest friends.
Janina, who had been answering Kotlicki
only in brief sentences, preoccupied with what
she saw and heard about her glanced at him
with an amazed and questioning look.
*' You are surprised?" he asked.
"Yes, for not so long ago they were so angry
at one another."
"Bosh! that was only a little comedy,
played fairly well in their momentary
mood ..."
"A comedy? . . . and I thought that ..."
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The Comedienne 191
"That they would begin to pull each other's
hair, no doubt . . . for even that sometimes
happens behind the stage between the best of
friends and actors. From what planet have
you dropped down that these people surprise
you so greatly? ..."
''I came from the coimtry where one hears
hardly anything about artists, only about the
theater itself, ' ' she answered straightforwardly.
"Ah, in that case, I beg your pardon. . . .
Now I imderstand your amazement and I will
presume to enlighten you that all those
quarrels, rumpuses, intrigues, envies, and even
fights are nothing but nerves, nerves, nerves!
They vibrate in all of these people at the
slightest touch, like the strings of an old
piano. Their tears, their angers, and their
hatreds are all momentary, and their loves
last about a week, at the longest. It is the
comedy of life of nervous individuals, acted a
himdredfold better than that which they
present on the stage, for it is played instinc-
tively. I might describe it thus: all women
in the theater are hysterical, and the men,
whether great or small, are neurasthenics.
Here you will find everything but real htmian
beings. Have you been long in the theater? "
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192 The Comedienne
"This is my first month."
''No wonder that everything amazes you;
but in a month or so you'll no longer see any-
thing surprising; everything will then appear
to you natural and commonplace."
''In other words, you infer that I also will
become a subject to hysteria," she gaily added.
"Yes. I give you my word that I am
speaking with absolute sincerity. You think
you can live with impimity in this environ-
ment without becoming like all the rest of
them; while I tell you that that is a; natural
necessity. Suppose we expatiate on that a
bit . . . will you allow me?"
"Certainly."
" In the coimtry you must know the woods.
. . . Now please recall to your mind the
woodsmen. Have they not in themselves
something of that wood which they are con-
tinually chopping? They become stiff and
stalwart, gloomy and indifferent. And what
of the butcher? Does not a man who is con-
tinually occupied in killing, who breathes in
the odor of raw meat and steaming blood, in
time become stamped with the same char-
acteristics as those beasts which he has slain?
He does, and I would say that he is himself a
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The Comedienne 193
beast. And what of the peasant? Do you
know the village well?"
Janina nodded.
''Imagine for a moment the green fields
in springtime, golden in the summer, russet-
gray and mournful in the autumn, white and
hard like a desert in the winter. Now behold
the peasant as he is from his birth imtil his
death . . . the average, normal peasant.
The peasant boy is like a wild, imbridled
colt, like the irresistible urge of the spring.
In the prime of his manhood he is like the
summer, a physical potentate, hard as the
earth baked by the July sim, gray as his
fallows and pastures, slow as the ripening of
the grain. Autumn corresponds entirely to
the old age of the peasant — that desperate,
ugly old age with its bleared eyes and earthy
complexion, like the groimd beneath the plow;
it lacks strength and goes about in beggars'
garments like the earth that has been reft of
the bulk of its fruits with only a few dried and
yellow stalks sticking out here and there in the
potato fields; the peasant is already slowly
returning to the earth from whence he spnmg,
the earth which itself becomes dumb and silent
after the harvest and lies there in the pale
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194 The Comedienne
autumn sunlight, quiet, passive, and drowsy.
. . . Afterwards comes winter: the peasant
in his white coffin, in his new boots and clean
shirt, lies down to rest in that earth which has,
like him, arrayed itself in a white shroud of
snow and fallen to sleep — that earth whose life
he was a part of, which he unconsciously loved,
and with which he dies together, as cold and
hard as those ice-covered furrows that
nourished him. . . ."
Kotlicki meditated a moment and then con-
tinued: "And yet you think that you can
remain in the theater without becoming a
hysterical type? That's impossible! This
phantom life, this daily portrayal of new
characters, feelings and thoughts upon that
shifting plane of impressions, amid artificial
stimulants — this must metamorphose every
human being, demolish his former personality
and recast or rather disintegrate his soul so
that you can put almost any stamp upon it.
You must become a chameleon; on the stage,
for art's sake, in life, from necessity."
"In other words, one must degenerate to
become an artist," added Janina.
"Well, what of that? . . . Even though
you fall, others will surely reach the goal and
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The Comedienne 195
convince themselves that it wasn't worth
reaching — ^that it isn't worth striving for, nor
shedding a single tear, nor bearing a single
pang ... for everything is illusion, illusion,
illusion. ..."
They became silent. Janina felt a sudden
chill depression. That former fear of the
tmknown, experienced at Bukowiec, now took
possession of her.
Kotlicki leaned with one elbow on the table
and looked absently into the crystal carafes
containing the arrack. He poured out and
drank glass after glass. The conversation
with Janina had wearied him; he continued
to speak to her, but felt vexed at himself for
having said so much. His yellow face, cov-
ered with freckles and short reddish hair, hard
and seamed with deep lines, resembled a horse's
face as it was reflected in the red glass of the
carafe.
Gazing at Janina he saw so much strength
and inner health, so many desires, dreams, and
hopes, that he muttered to himself in a hollow,
dissatisfied tone: ''What for? . . . What
for? . . ."
Then he gulped down another glass of wine
and became absorbed in the general conver-
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196 The Comedienne
sation. Voices sounded harshly, faces were
red, and eyes glowed through a mist of alco-
holic intoxication, while many lips were already
mumbling indistinctly and incoherently. All
were talking at once, arguing heatedly and
quarreling volubly, imceremoniously swearing,
shouting or laughing.
The candles, almost burnt out, were
replaced by new ones. Gray dawn, filtering
in through the reed shades in thin streaks,
dimmed the glare of the lights.
The guests rose from the table and scattered
about the adjoining rooms. Cabinska, fol-
lowed by a few ladies, repaired to the boudoir
for tea. In the first room a few tables were
arranged and a game of cards commenced.
Only Gold still sat at the festal board and
ate, relating something to Glas, who was now
quite drunk.
''They are poor people. . . . My sister is a
widow with six children ; I help her as much as
I can, but that doesn't amoimt to much. . . .
And, in the meanwhile, the children are grow-
ing up and need ever more ..." Gold was
saying.
''Then cheat us more, you dog's face! . . .'*
"The elder is about to take up a medical
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The Comedienne 197
course, the next in age is a store clerk and the
rest of them are such small and weak and
sickly tots that it pains one to look at
them! ..."
''Then drown them, like puppies! ...
Drown them and be done with it!" mumbled
Glas.
"You are very drtmk . . ." whispered Gold
scornfully, ''you have no idea what children
are! . . ."
"Get married and you'll have kids of your
own ..." stuttered Glas.
"I can't ... I must first see that these
are provided for," replied Gold quietly grasp-
ing a cup of tea in both hands and sipping it in
little gulps, "I must first make men of them
..." he added, his eyes glowing.
All aroimd there was a hirai of voices as in
a beehive when the swarm of young bees is
ready to fly out into the world. The hidden
desires, envies, feuds, and troubles broke out
irresistibly. The talking grew louder, people
were denoimced without pardon, slandered
without mercy, reviled and derided without
pity. Those assembled there had now become
their natural selves: no one masked himself
any longer nor confined himself within the
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198 The Comedienne
! bounds of one r61e. All played a thousand
different r61es. The hidden comedy of souls
now found its stage, its audience, and its
' actors, often very talented ones.
Janina exhilarated by the wine, conversed
with Wawrzecki about the theater. After-
wards she strayed about the rooms, watched
the men playing cards, and listened to a
variety of conversations and arguments.
Janina roused herself from her meditations,
for Kotlicki stood before her with a cup of tea
in his hand and with his sharp ennuied voice
began to speak: ''You are observing the com-
pany, mademoiselle? Truly, what remark-
able energy there is in all their actions, what
strong souls they now appear to be!"
''Your malice also has strength ..." she
replied slowly.
'And is wasted on slander and ridicule, you
wished to add, didn't you?"
"Almost so."
"We shall see, we shall see ..." he
said slowly, standing his cup upon the
table and then, taking leave of Janina he
left quietly.
In the anteroom where the sleepy Wicek
handed him his overcoat, he heard themonot-
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The Comedienne 199
onous whispering of the children's voices
behind the screen. He raised the cttrtain and
saw Cabinski's four little boys kneeling in
their nightgowns and repeating their prayers
after the nurse.
A small night-lamp, glowing before a holy
picture above the nurse's bed, faintly
illumined that group of children and the old, f
gray-haired woman, who humbly bowed to the
grotmd, struck her breast with her hand and
whispered in a tearful voice: '* O Lamb of God,
who purgest the sins of the world!"
The children repeated the words after her
with drowsy voices and beat their breasts with
their little hands.
Kotlicki withdrew quietly and without a
smile. Only when he had reached the stairs,
he whispered: ''Well, well! We shall see, we
shall see. ..."
Janina started for the boudoir, but Nied-
zielska stopped her and drew her into a con-
versation; later Wladek joined them.
* The company began to break up.
"Do you live far away?" Niedzielska asked
Janina.
''On Podwal Street, but in a week at most
I am moving to Widok Street."
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200 The Comedienne
''Ah, that's good, for we live on Piwna
Street, so we can go together. ..."
They left immediately. Niedzielska took
Janina by the arm, while Wladek walked
alongside, a little angry because he had to
accompany his mother; he swore to himself,
while aloud he made melancholy remarks
about the weather.
The streets were deserted and silent. Dawn
was already illumining the dark depths of the
horizon and the outlines of the houses became
distinct. The gas lamps extended like an
endless golden chain with their links of pale
flames diffusing a mist of light upon the dew-
covered sidewalks and the gray walls of the
houses. The fresh brisk breeze of a July
morning swept down the streets with a strange
charm and tranquility. The houses stood
silent, still wrapt in slumber.
Arrived at her hotel Niedzielska kissed
Janina with a sudden friendliness and they
parted.
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CHAPTER VI
"Will you find it comfortable here?"
"I think so. It is quiet and light. . . .
Who lived here before me? "
''Miss Nicolette. She is now at the War-
saw Theater . . . That's a good omen."
''No, not entirely. They are likely not to
engage her. . .* ."
"Oh, they'll engage her all right. . . . Miss
Zamecka is clever," said Mme. Anna, the
daughter of Sowinska into-whose home Janina
had just moved.
She was twenty-four years old, neither home-
ly nor pretty with an indefinite color of hair
and eyes, but with a very definite slenderness
and bad temper.
She conducted a dressmaking establish-
ment tmder the name of Mme. Anna and
although she made her living on actresses and
very often received free tickets to the theater,
she never went there and hated artists. There
were often scenes over this with her mother,
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202 The Comedienne
but old Sowinska, would not so much as listen
to any suggestion that she should abandon the
theater. She had become so deeply rooted
there that she could not tear herself away,
although Mme. Anna would turp almost
yellow from shame over the fact that her
mother was a theatrical seamstress. She was
disgustingly stingy, ignorant, pitiless, and
jealous.
Mme. Anna examined Janina's wardrobe
with ill-concealed malice.
''AH that will have to be made over, for it
smells of the coimtry,*' she decreed.
Janina began to protest a little, maintaining
that the same styles could often be seen in the
streets.
''Yes, but who wears them, please take no-
tice of that : shopwomen or shoemakers' wives;
a self-respecting woman will not wear such
rags!'* Mme. Anna scornfully persisted.
"Well then, have them made over. I can
pay you inmiediately for the work and also a
full month's rent in advance."
"Oh, there's no hurry. You'll need to buy
a few costimies."
" I'll have enough left for that."
Janina paid thirty rubles for her room.
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The Comedienne 203
"I am already settled for good," she later
said to the old woman who dropped in to see
her.
* * Bosh, it won't be for long ! In two months
you'll be moving again. An actor's life is a
gypsy life, from wagon to wagon, from town to
town. ..."
*' Perhaps at some time I'll be able to settle
down permanently," said Janina.
Sowinska smiled gloomily. "That is the
way one thinks in the beginning, but after-
wards . . . afterwards it ends in eternal wan-
dering. . . . You become worn-out like a
rag and die on a hotel bed."
" Not all end in that way," answered Janina
gaily, paying little attention.
"What are you laughing at? . . . It's not
at all ftmny!" cried Sowinska.
"Am I laughing? ... I merely said that
not all end in that way."
"All ought to end in that way, every one of
them!" Sowinska shouted angrily and left.
Janina could not tmderstand either her vio-
lent anger, or her last words.
The days sped on. Janina absorbed the
theater into herself ever more deeply. She
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204 The Comedienne
attended the rehearsals regularly, afterwards
went to give lessons for two hoiirs to Cabinska's
daughter, and later would go home for dinner,
prepare her wardrobe for the performance, and
at about eight in the evening start off again
for the theater.
On the days when no operettas were played
and the choruses were free, she went to the
Summer Theater and there, squeezed high up
in the gallery, spent entire evenings dreaming.
She devoured with her eyes the actresses,
their gestures, costumes, mimicry, and voices.
She followed the action of the plays so closely
that later she could re-create them in her mind
with detailed accuracy and often, after return-
ing from the theater, she would light the
candles, stand before the large mirror, and
repeat the acting which she had seen, observ-
ing intently every qmver of her facial expres-
sion and trying out every conceivable pose.
But she was seldom satisfied with herself.
The plays which she saw left her cold and
bored. She was not stirred by the bourgeois
dramas with their eternal conventional con-
flicts and flirtations. She repeated the banal
lines of these plays apathetically and in the
midst of some scene would stop and go to bed.
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The Comedienne 205
She asked Cabinski to give her a r61e in the
cast of a new play, but he put her off with
nothing.
''I am keeping you in mind, but first you
must familiarize yourself with the stage. . . .
When we present some melodrama or folk play
you will get a bigger r61e ..." was all he
said.
In the meanwhile they were playing only
operettas, for they filled the theater.
Janina smiled in reply to Cabinski's vague
promises, although torn by impatience. But
she had already learned to control her feelings
and to wear a mask of smiling indifference.
She consoled herself with the thought that
sooner or later she would have done with the
chorus and that the moment must at last
arrive when she would appear in a real r61e.
She had already become saturated with the
atmosphere in which she lived. And that
public, so strange and capricious, which some
accused of ignorance, of a total lack of taste
and higher desires, and others of indifference,
but to which all paid homage and before which
they all cringed and trembled, begging its
favors — that public even filled Janina with
anger. There was something strange in her
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2o6 The Comedienne
attitude. She would dress very fastidiously
for the stage, merely for the purpose of attract-
ing attention to herself; she would adopt the
most graceful poses, but whenever she felt the
gaze of the multitude it would send a depress-
ing shudder through her.
''Shoemakers!" she would whisper scorn-
fully, thereafter remaining in the shadow.
In the dressing-room chorus girls passively
submitted to Janina, for they feared her,
knowing that she had intimate and continual
relations with the management. They were
likewise impressed by the fact that Wladek
followed her continually and that Kotlicki, who
formerly used to come behind the scenes only
occasionally, now sat there daily throughout
the whole performance and conversed with
Janina with his hat off. She was surroimded
by a sort of invisible aura of tmconscious
respect, for although many surmises were
made about her on accoimt of Kotlicki, no one
ever dared insinuate anything to her face.
At first, Janina inclined toward the leading
actresses of the company and wanted to enter
upon a more intimate acquaintance with them,
but they discouraged her, for whenever she
began to speak to them about the theater or
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The Comedienne 207
about art, they would become silent, or else
commence to tell her about their own triumphs.
Stanislawski and the stage-director were
Janina's sincere friends. Many times during
the rehearsals they would go upstairs to the
deserted dressing-rooms or to the storeroom
imder the stage, and there tell stories of the
theater and the actors of their day — an epoch
that was already dead. They would conjure
up before her eyes great figures, great souls,
and great passions almost like those she had
dreamed of.
How much advice they gave her concerning
emmciations, classical pose, and the best
manner of reciting her lines! She listened
with interest, but when she tried to play the
fragment of some r61e according to their
instructions, she found she could not do it,
and they would then appear so stiff, pathetic
and imnatural that she began to treat them
with an indulgent pity.
With Mme. Anna, Janina lived on a footing
of cool politeness. With Sowinska she was a
little more intimate, for the old woman fawned
upon her as a tenant who regularly paid her
rent in advance. Sowinska was coarse and
violent. There were certain days that she
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2o8 The Comedienne
woiild eat nothing, nor even go to the theater,
but would sit locked in her room, crying, or at
moments swearing extraordinarily.
After such days she seemed even more
energetic and would indulge with greater zest
in behind-the-stage intrigues. She would
walk among the audience and speak qmetly
with the yotmg men who htmg about the
theater. She would bring the actresses invi-
tations to suppers, bouquets, candy, and
letters and would seek with a genuine zeal to
induce the stubborn ones to yield to the
advances made to them. She accompanied
the girls as a chaperon to carousals and knew
just when to find an important reason for
leaving. At such times there would gleam
tmder her mask of kindhearted and wrinkled
old age an expression of cruel glee.
Janina overheard once how the old woman
spoke to Shepska, who had joined the theater
after being seduced by a member of the chorus.
''Listen to me, madame! . . . What does
your lover give you? A home on Brewery
Street and sardines with tea for breakfast,
dinner and supper. . . . It's a shame to
waste yourself on such a poor fool ! Don't you
know that you could live as comfortably as
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The Comedienne 209
you wish and laugh at Cabinski ! Why should
you have scruples! ... A person profits by
life only as he enjoys it! . . . A yoiuig and
pretty girl ought not waste herself on a penni-
less nobody. . . . Perhaps you think 3^ou will
the sooner get a r61e by remaining where you
are? . . . Oho! when pears grow on a pine
tree! Only those are given r61es who have
someone backing them.''
Usually she accomplished her purpose, and
though often offered costly presents, seldom
accepted anything.
''I don't want them. If I advise anyone,
it's because I wish them well," she would
answer briefly.
Janina who had learned enough of the more
intimate phases of life behind the scenes,
regarded Sowinska with a certain awe. She
knew that it was not for gain that the old
woman shoved the yoimger ones into the mire
of degradation, but for some hidden reason.
At times, she feared her, tmable to endure the
enigmatic look with which Sowinska scruti-
nized her face. She felt instinctively that
Sowinska seemed to be waiting for something
or watching for some opporttmity.
On one of those lachrymose days of Sowin-
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210 The Comedienne
ska's Janina, who was just starting for the
theater, dropped in to see her.
Entering the room she stood amazed.
Sowinska was kneeling beside an open trunk,
while on the bed, the table and the chairs were
spread the parts of some theatrical costume
and on the floor were lying stacks of faded
copies of r61es. Sowinska was holding in her
hand the photograph of a young man with a
strange face, long and so thin that all the cheek
bones could be seen distinctly protruding
through the skin. He had an abnormally
high forehead with wide temples and a huge
head. Large eyes gazed out of the pale face
like the stmken hollows in a dead man's skull.
Sowinska turned to the girl with the photo-
graph in her hands and in a voice trembling
with anguish, whispered: "Look, this is my
son . . . and these are my sacred relics!"
"Was he an artist?"
"An artist? ... I should say so, but not
like those monkeys of Cabinski's. How he
played! The papers wrote about him. He
was in Plock and I went to see him. When he
appeared in The Robbers the whole theater
shook with applause and cries of admiration.
I sat behind the scenes and when I heard his
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The Comedienne 211
voice and saw him I was so overcome with
emotion that I thought I would die for very-
joy!
" I loved him so dearly that I would have let
myself be torn to shreds for him! . . . He was
an artist, an artist! He never owned a penny
and poverty of ten devoured him like a dog, but
I tried to help him as much as I could. I
slaved for him and lived on nothing but tea
and bread to save something for him."
She ceased speaking while tears flowed softy
down her faded, pale face.
Janina, after a long silence, asked quietly:
*' Where is your son now?"
''Where?" she answered, rising from the
floor. "Where? ... He is dead! He shot
himself."
She began to breathe heavily.
"My whole life has been like that!" she
began again. "His father was a tailor and I
kept a shop. In the beginning all went well
for we had plenty of money and a decent home.
My husband worked for a circus and shortly a
performer caught his eye and he followed her
into the world when the circus moved on."
She sighed heavily.
"I merely set my teeth tightly together.
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212 The Comedienne
I toiled like a galley slave to gain a mere living
for myself and daughter, but I was stricken by
an epidemic. When I came out of it, every-
thing went to the dogs, for my shop was sold
to cover my debts. I was practically turned
out into the street without a penny. An
imspeakable rage seized me. I borrowed
money wherever I could and together with my
child went to seek my husband. I foimd him
living with a shopkeeper in such comfort that
he had forgotten all about us. I took him by
the neck and brought him back with us to
Warsaw. ... He staid with me a whole
year, bestowed another child upon me, and
ran away again. My daughter grew up, we
took home sewing, and managed to make a
living somehow.
''Then after some years they brought back
my husband — stone-blind. I gave him a nook
in my home, for my children desired it. God
was at least merciful enough to take him
away.
*' Later, I married off my daughter to a pea-
sant. One day about two years ago, I was
present at my daughter's name day party to
which a few relatives and friends had been
invited. In the midst of it they brought me a
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The Comedienne 213
telegram from Suwalki asking me to come
immediately, for my son was very ill/'
She paused for a moment, gazed blankly
about the room and in a low voice, filled with
despair whispered on, lifting her pale face to
Janina's:
"He was already dead. . . . They were
waiting for me to bury him. . . .''
** Later they told me that he had fallen in
love with a chorus girl and killed himself for
her! They showed her to me. She was the
vilest sort. And that was why he killed
himself. . . .
''When I caught her in the street, I would
have killed her, killed her like a mad dog to
avenge my wrong and anguish! . . .'' Sowin-
ska shouted aloud, clenching her fists.
''Such is my life, such! I curse it every
day, but cannot forget . . . all that still bums
here in my bosom ... I am in the theater,
for it always seems to me that he will return,
that he is already dressing and will immedi-
ately appear on the stage . . .
"My God, God! . . . Ah, it was not he
that was to blame, but she . . . you girls tear
to pieces a mother's heart ... I would
trample you all imderf oot like so many worms,
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ii4 The Comedienne
into the mud, into poverty, so that you might
agonize as I do ... so that you might suffer,
suffer, suffer. ..."
She ceased, breathing heavily. Her yellow
waxen face glared with wild hatred. Her wrin-
kles twitched and her pale bitten lips seethed.
Janina had been standing all the while
eagerly absorbing her every word and gesture.
The overwhelming reality of Sowinska's grief,
so simple and strong, had called forth a respon-
sive chord in her own heart.
She was standing in the street, wondering
where she should go, when a voice behind her
said: ''Good morning. Miss Orlowska!"
She tiuTied about quickly. Mrs. Niedziel-
ska, Wladek's mother, was standing before her
with a smile on her aged, simple face.
Janina greeted her hastily.
''I was about to take a walk," she said.
''Perhaps you will drop into my house for a
minute? ..." begged Niedzielska quietly.
"I am so much alone that often for whole days
I don't see anyone except Anna and the
janitor."
She hobbled slowly along.
"Certainly, I still have a little time before
the performance," answered Janina.
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The Comedienne 215
"You're not in the theater very long, are
you?"
"Only three weeks."
"I could tell that right away!"
"How?"
"I can't exactly explain. I watched you at
Cabinska's party and immediately knew that
you were a newcomer. I even mentioned it
toWladek ..."
"Please make yourself at home. . . . I'll be
with you in a minute. Niedzielska played
hostess quite grandly, once they were arrived
at her home.
Janina, left alone, observed with curiosity
the old-fashioned mahogany table covered
with an embroidered net doily which stood
before a huge lounge upholstered with black
horsehair; the chairs, upholstered with the
same material, had lyre-shaped backs. A
yellow polished dresser was filled with gro-
tesque porcelq,in, greenish pitchers, colored
bric-a-brac, wineglasses with monograms, and
flower-painted teacups standing on high legs.
A clock under a bell glass, old, faded steel
engravings of the Empire period, a lamp with
a green shade on a separate table, a few pots
with miserable flowers on the window sill and
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2i6 The Comedienne
two cages with canaries constituted the entire
furnishings.
**Let us have a drink of coffee . . /' said
Niedzielska, reentering.
She took from the dresser two showy cups
and placed them on the table. Then she went
to the kitchen and brought in the coffee,
already poured into two chipped bowls, and a
plate with a few stale cakes.
'* O goodness, I forgot that I had already set
the cups on the table . . . well, it doesn't
matter. We can drink the coffee just as well
out of these, can't we? ..." she said, at once
adding, '*dear me, I forgot the sugar! Do
you like your coffee sweet, mademoiselle?"
The old woman left the room and through
the door Janina could hear her taking sugar
out of a glass bowl. She brought in on a little
saucer two lumps.
** Please have some in your coffee. . . .
You see at my age I can't have anything
sweet," she said, drinking audibly.
Finally, after perhaps half an hour, in which
her hostess chattered interminably and Janina
listened with increasing weariness, the girl
got up to go, and at the very door she met
Wladek.
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The Comedienne 217
** Visiting my mother!'' he exclaiined.
''Certainly. There's nothing wrong in
that," she answered, smiling at his confusion.
''Heavens! No doubt she's been telling
you what a scoundrel I am. I beg your par-
don for having had to listen."
"Oh, it didn't offend me in the least."
"It only made you laugh, I know. The
whole theater is laughing at my expense, for
all the ladies have already been here."
"Your mother loves you," Janina spoke
seriously.
"That love is beginning to choke me like a
bone in my throat!" he answered sourly and
wanted to add something else, but Janina
bowed silently and passed on.
Wladek did not have the courage to follow
her and went upstairs.
"What is happening in my own home? " she
thought as she walked toward the theater.
"What is my father doing? ..."
And she suddenly felt within herself a
glimmer of sympathy for that tyrant. She
saw now how lonely he must be among stran-
gers who ridiculed his eccentricities.
During the whole performance, the vision
of her father constantly recurred in her mem-
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ory. She asked herself what it was that had
made him so cruel, and why he hated her?
Kotlicki brought her a bouquet of roses. She
received it coolly , without even glancing at him.
*'I see that you are out of sorts to-day, "he
said, taking her hand.
She pulled it away.
Majkowska, who was just then passing,
whispered, pointing to Rosinska: ''What a
scarecrow! What conventional acting! She
is incapable of producing even a single accent
of true feeling!"
Behind Janina some gentleman in a high hat
was pressing the hands of one of the chorus
girls.
''Things are turning oiit fine, for to-morrow,
there will be no rehearsal and we can go to
Bielany in the afternoon. Wait for us at your
home, we will drop in and take you along with
us/* whispered Mimi.
"I also am going on that outing," said
Kotlicki, "you are going too, aren't you?"
"Probably . . . but if I couldn't go it
would be just as great a success."
"In that case I wouldn't go either."
He bent so closely over Janina that she
felt his breath upon her face.
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The Comedienne 219
"I don't understand you," she said, moving
away from him.
"I am going along only for your sake,'* he
whispered in a still quieter tone.
"For my sake? . . . " she queried, glancing
at him sharply, and stirred by a sudden
aversion.
"Yes . . . surely you must have guessed
by now that I love you," said Kotlicki, draw-
ing together his lips which were trembling
and looking at her pleadingly,
"There they say the same, only they play a
little better!" she remarked scornfully, point-
ing to the stage.
Kotlicki drew himself erect, a sullen shadow
passed over his equine face, his eyes gleaming
threateningly.
"I will convince you! ..."
"Very well, but to-morrow at Bielany, not
now," Janina coolly extended her hand in fare-
well and left for the dressing-room.
Kotlicki gazed after her covetously, biting
his lips. _^,
"A comedienne!" he finally whispered, '
leaving the theater.
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CHAPTER VII
Janina awoke at about half -past ten in the
morning. Sowinska had just brought in her
breakfast.
**Was anyone here to see me? . . .'' she
asked.
Sowinska nodded her head and handed
Janina a letter.
** About an hour ago a ruddy fellow deliv-
ered it and asked me to give it to you.''
Janina nervously tore open the envelope
and immediately recognized the handwriting
of Grzesikiewicz : —
"My dear Miss Orlgavska:
'*I have purposely come to Warsaw to see
you on a very important matter. If you will
kindly deign to be home at eleven o'clock I
shall be there at that hour. Please pardon my
boldness. Allow me to kiss your hands and
remain your humble servant,
Grzesikiewicz."
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The Comedienne 221
"What's going to happen? . . /' thought
Janina, dressing hastily. ''What kind of
important matter can it be that he writes of?
Concerning my father? . . . Can it be that he
is ill and longing for me? . . . Oh no! No!"
She quickly drank her tea, tidied her room
and patiently awaited Grzesikiewicz's visit.
The thought of seeing at last some one of her
own people from Bukowiec even filled her
with a certain joy.
"Perhaps he will propose to me again?"
Janina thought to herself. And she saw his
big weather-beaten face, bronzed by the stm,
and those blue eyes gazing so mildly from
beneath his shock of flaxen hair. She remem-
bered too, his embarrassed shyness.
"A good, honest man!" she said to herself,
walking up and down the room; but then the
thought occurred to her that his visit was
likely to spoil her intended trip to Bielany,
and her enthusiasm began to cool. She
determined she would speak to him briefly.
"I wonder what he wants of me?" Janina
asked herself imeasily, assuming the most
impossible things.
" My father must be very sick and wants me
to come to him," she answered herself.
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She stood in the center of the room almost
dazed, with fear that she must return to
Bukowiec.
"No, it is impossible! . . . I couldn't stand
it there a single week . . . and moreover, he
drove me away from home forever ..."
A chaotic conflict between hate, sorrow,
and a quiet, scarcely perceptible feeling of
homesickness began to rage in Janina's heart.
The bell rang in the anteroom.
Janina sat down and waited quietly. She
heard the door opening, the voices of Grzesik-
iewicz and Sowinska, and the sound of an
overcoat being hung up.
'*May I come in?'' asked a voice outside.
''Please do," she whispered, choking with
trepidation as she arose from her chair.
Grzesikiewicz entered. His face was even
more simburnt than usual and his blue eyes
seemed bluer. He walked stiffly and erectly
like a petrified block of meat squeezed into a
tight surtout with difficulty. He almost
threw his hat upon a basket standing near the
door and, kissing Janina' s hand, said quickly:
''Good morning ..."
He straightened himself, scanned her face
with his eyes and sat down heavily in a chair.
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The Comedienne 223
"I had a hard time finding you ..." he
began, and suddenly broke off. Then, as if to
bolster up his courage, he attempted to shove
aside a chair that interfered with his actions
but pushed it so hard that it fell over.
He sprang up, all red in the face, and began
to apologize.
Janina smiled, so vividly did that impulsive
action remind her of their last talk and that
tmforttmate proposal. And for a moment it
seemed to her that it was now that he was to
propose and that they were sitting in the quiet
parlor at Bukowiec. She could not explain
to herself the impression that he made on her
with that honest face, worn by suffering, and
with those bright blue eyes which seemed to
bring with them echoes of those beloved fields
and woods, those quiet glens, that golden sun-
light and the free and botmteous life of nature.
For one fleeting moment her mind dwelt on all
this, but at the same time there awoke memo-
ries of all her sufferings and her banishment.
She handed him a box of cigarettes and said /
in an easy tone, breaking the somewhat pro- '
longed silence: '*You give proof of no small [
courage and . . . kindness by visiting me
after all that has happened. ..."
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224 The Comedienne
"Do you remember what I told you the last
time,'' he answered, subduing and softening
his voice, "that I would never and always! . . .
That I would never cease and would always
continue to love you!"
Janina moved impatiently, for his deeply
sincere accent pained her.
"I beg your pardon ... if it makes you
angry, I will not say another word about
myself . . ." he said with resignation.
"What is the news from home?" she asked,
raising her eyes to his.
"How can I tell you? . . . It's some-
thing that beggars all description. You would
not know your father; he has become an
impossible autocrat in his official duties, and
outside of them he goes htmting, visits his
neighbors, whistles to himself . . . but has
become so thin and worn that it is hard to
recognize him. Worry is eating him away
like a canker."
"Why? . . . What is there for my father
to worry about?"
"My God! How can you ask such a
question? Are you joking, or haven't you a
spark of feeling in you? . . . Why is he
worrying? . . . Because you are away . . .
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The Comedienne 225
because he, like all of us, is dying with longing
for you! ..."
''And what about Krenska? ..." Janina
asked with apparent calmness, although
stirred deeply by what he had told her.
"What has Krenska to do with this? . . .
He threw her out the very next day after your
departure, afterwards received a few days'
official leave from his duties and left Buko-
wiec. ... In about a week he returned so
woebegone and haggard that we scarcely
recognized him. Even strangers are crying
over him, but you had no pity on him and
went forth into the world . . . and what kind
of world, besides? ..."
Janina sprang up violently from her chair.
* * Yes, you may be angry with me if you will,
but I love you, I love you too well, and we all
love you too well to be denied the right to
speak what we feel. Have me thrown out of
here if you will, and I'll not complain, but I'll
wait for you at the street door or meet you
an3rwhere else and keep telling you that your
father is dying without you and that he is
growing sicker and weaker every day! My
mother came across him not so long ago in the
woods : he was lying in some bushes and crying
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226 The Comedienne
like a child. You are killing him. Both of
you are killing each other with your pride and
unrelenting stubbornness. You are the best
woman in the world and I feel that you will
not leave him alone, that you will return and
give up theatrical life. . . . Aren't you
ashamed of associating with such a band of
scotmdrels? . . . How can you possibly
exhibit yourself on the stage! ..."
He broke off and breathing heavily, wiped
his eyes with his handkerchief. Never before
had he said so much at one time.
Janina sat with bowed head, her face as pale
as a sheet, her lips set tightly and her heart
filled with a storm of rebellion and suffering.
That sharp voice which she had just heard had
in it such a tearful, deep and soul-stirring
expression and those words: "Your father is
suffering . . . your father is crying . . . yotir
father is longing for you!" penetrated her
with so sharp a grief and harried her so pain-
fully, that at moments she wanted to spring
up and go to him as quickly as she could; but
then again, memories of the past would flood
her brain and she would become cool and
hardened. Finally she recalled the theater
and became entirely indifferent.
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The Comedienne 227
''No! He has driven me away forever.
... I am alone in the world and will remain
alone. I could not live without the theater! "
Janina said to herself and there arose in her
again that mad desire for theatrical pon-
quest.
Grzesikiewicz also became silent, his eyes
clouding mistily. He devoured her with his
eyes, and had a great desire to fall on his
knees before her, kiss her hands and feet and
the hem of her dress and beg her to listen to
him . . . Then again, when he remembered
the whole tragedy of the situation, he felt
like springing up from his chair and smashing
everything that came in his way; or again
such a violent grief would convulse him that
he could have cried aloud in sheer despair.
He sat and gazed at that beloved face, now
pale and worn, on which the feverish night life
of the theater had already left its imprint, and
he felt that he would give his very life for her,
if she would only go back.
Janina finally bent on him eyes that were
glowing with irrevocable determination.
"You must know how my father hates me;
you must also know that, when I refused to
marry you, he drove me out of his house for-
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228 The Comedienne
ever ... he almost cursed me and drove me
out ..." she repeated with bitterness. "I
left because I had to, but I will never return.
I will not exchange the freedom of the theater
for slavery at home. Things happened as
they did because they had to. My father
told me at that time that he had no longer
a daughter, and I now answer that I have no
longer a father. We have parted and will
never be reunited again. I am entirely able to
shift for myself, and art will suffice me for
everything."
''So you will not return?" asked Grzesikie-
wicz, for that was all he tmderstood of her
words.
''No! I have no home and I will not for-
sake the theater!" replied Janina in a calm
voice, regarding him coolly, but her pale lips
trembled a little and her bosom throbbed
violently, convulsed by the conflict within.
"You will kill him ... he loves you so
... he will not outlive such a blow. ..."
said Grzesikiewicz gently.
"No, Andrew, my father does not love me.
A person whom you love you do not torment
for whole years at a time and then drive away
from home like the worst. . . . Even a dog
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The Comedienne 229
does not ttim its yoting ones out . . . even
an animal never does what was done to me!"
"I have seen and know how bitterly he
regrets those reckless words and how hard it is
for him to live without you. I swear that you
will make him happy by returning! That
you will restore him to life!"
''Did he tell you that he desired me to
return to Bukowiec? Perhaps he has given
you a letter for me? Please tell me the whole
truth!" she spoke rapidly.
Grzesikiewicz hesitated in confusion and
became even sadder.
''No. He neither said anything about it,
nor gave me a letter for you," he answered,
lowering his voice.
"So that is how much he loves me and how
greatly he longs to see me? Ha! ha! ha! " she
laughed harshly.
" Don't you know him yet? He will die of
thirst rather than beg a glass of water. When
I was leaving and told him where I was going,
he did not say a word, but looked at me in
such a way and gripped my hand so firmly
that I understood him entirely. ..."
"No, you did not understand him at all.
My father is not at all concerned about me ; he
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230 The Comedienne
is only concerned over the fact that the whole
neighborhood must be speaking about my
departure and my joining the theater. . . .
Surely, Krenska must have left no stone
imtumed. ... He is concerned only about
the gossip that is circulating. He feels dis-
graced through me. He would like to see me .
broken and begging forgiveness at his feet.
That is what he is anxious about ! "
''You do not know him! Such hearts ..."
Janina hastily interruped him: ''Let us not
speak of hearts where on one side they do not
at all enter into the question, where they are
entirely lacking and there is only an
insane ..."
"So then? . . . " he asked rising, for he was
choking with a spasm of anger.
The bell in the hall rang sharply, evidently
pulled violently by someone.
"I will never return," said Janina with
final determination.
"Janina . . . have mercy ..."
"I do not tmderstand that word," she
answered with emphasis, "and I repeat:
never! tmless it be . . . after I am dead."
" Don't say that, for ..."
He did not finish for the door suddenly
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The Comedienne 231
swung wide open and Mimi with Wawrzecki
came rushing in.
"Well, are you coming? Hurry and dress
yourself, for we start immediately! . . . Ah,
I beg your pardon, I did not know you had a
visitor," cried Mimi, observing Grzesikiewicz
who took his hat, bowed automatically, and,
without looking at anyone, whispered.
"Good-bye."
And without more ado he left.
Janina sprang up as though she wished to
detain him, but Kotlicki and Topolski were
just then entering and greeted her jocularly.
After them came some third person.
"What sort of broad gentleman was that?
As I live, it is the first time that I saw such a
mass of meat in a stirtout!" cried that third
comer.
"This is Mr. Glogowski. In a week we are
to present his play and in a month he will be
famous throughout Europe! " said Wawrzecki,
introducing him.
"And in three months my fame will reach
Mars with all its appurtenances! . . . If you
are going to bluff, at least let it be a good bluff,"
laughed Glogowski.
Janina greeted them all, and in a subdued
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232 The Comedienne
voice answered Mimi who was asking her
about Grzesikiewicz : "An old friend of mine
and former neighbor, a very honest man ..."
''He must be flushed with money, that
youth ... he looks it!" exclaimed Glogow-
ski.
''Yes, he is wealthy. His family owns the
largest sheep-growing ranch in Congressional
Poland . . ."
"A shepherd! ... he rather looks as
though he were a keeper of elephants! ..."
jested Wawrzecki.
Kotlicki only smiled and discreetly observed
Janina.
"Something must have happened here . . .
for her voice shows she is deeply moved," he
thought. "Perhaps that was her former
lover? . . ."
"Come, hurry, for Mela is waiting down-
stairs in a hack," cried Mimi impatiently.
Janina dressed hastily and they all went out
together.
They rode to the bank of the Wisla and from
there took a boat to Bielany.
All were in a springtime humor, except
Janina. She sat gloomily rapt in thought.
Kotlicki chatted jovially, Wawrzecki jested
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The Comedienne 233
with Glogowski and the women took part in
the merriment, but Janina hardly heard a
thing that was being said. She was still
pondering her conversation with Grzesikiewicz
and the heavy feeling it had left in her heart.
*'Is anything troubling you?" Kotlicki
asked with anxiety in his voice.
''Me? Oh nothing! ... I was just mus-
ing upon human misery," she answered.
" It is not worth thinking of anything that is
not pleasure, full of life and youth ..."
''Don't complete that nonsense. It is just
as if you were to eat off the butter on a piece
of bread and then muse over your dry crust
that you did a foolish thing after all," inter-
posed Glogowski, " I see you do not like to eat,
only to lick at things."
" My dear sir, I have the honor of knowing
that ever since I was a schoolboy," Kotlicki
retorted sarcastically.
"That isn't the point; the point is that you
advocate downright silly things. For instance
indulgence, while you have had ample oppor-
timity to prove upon yourself the sad results
of that jolly theory."
"Both in life and in literature you are
always paradoxical."
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234 The Comedienne
''I'll wager you have weak Itings, arthritis,
neurasthenia and ..."
''Cotint up to twenty."
They began to argue vehemently and then
to quarrel.
The boat had passed the railroad bridge and
the vast calm of the open country enveloped
them on all sides. The sim was shining
brightly, but a chill dampness arose from the
murky waters of the river. The small waves,
saturated with light, like serpents with gleam-
ing scales, splashed about in the sunlight.
The long sand dimes resembled water giants,
basking in the stm with yellow upturned
bellies. A string of scows floated before them ;
the pilot in a small cockleshell boat rowed
on in front and every now and then would
raise his voice in a cry which echoed across
the water and reached them in a confused
medley of tones. A few boatmen plied their
oars with automatic motion and their sad
song was wafted to the party and floated above
their heads. Afterwards a growing silence
began to spread arotmd them.
The mild verdure of the shores, the sunlit
trail of the waters gleaming with the sheeny
softness of satin, the gentle rocking of the
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The Comedienne ^35
boat, the rhythmical stroke of the oars tincon-
sciously imposed a silence upon everybody.
''I will not retiim!" thought Janina, auto-
matically repeating those words, while she
gazed upon the blue expanse of waters and
pursued with her eyes the waves that fled
swiftly on before her, ''I will not return!"
She felt that loneliness was embracing her
with ever wider arms and surrounding her
soul with an emptiness into which she gazed
defiantly. Her sorrow, the thought of her
father and Grzesikiewicz, all her former
acquaintances and her whole past seemed to
be flowing on far behind her so that she saw
them dimly in the distant gray mist and only
the faint echo of an entreaty or of weeping
seemed to reach her now and then.
No! she would not have the strength to turn
back and swim against that current that was
bearing her onward. Nevertheless, she felt
that tears were dropping upon her heart and
burning it with bitterness.
They disembarked at the landing-stage at
Bielany and began to wind their way up the
hill.
Janina walked ahead of the company with
Kotlicki who did not leave her for a moment.
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236 The Comedienne
''You owe me a reply," he said after a while,
assttming a tender expression.
'* I answered you yesterday, and to-day you
owe me an explanation," she said harshly, for
now, after that recent conversation with
Grzesikiewicz and all that it had cost her, she
felt an almost physical aversion and hatred
toward Kotlicki; he struck her as repulsive
and brazen.
''An explanation? . . . Can one explain
love or analyze a feeling? ..." he began,
tmeasily biting his thin lips. He did not like
the tone of her voice.
"Let us be sincere, for what you told me
is . . ." she cried impulsively.
"Is sincerity itself."
"No, it is only a comedy!" Janina retorted
sharply and felt a great desire to strike him
in the face.
"You offend me! One can believe a per-
son's feelings without sharing them," he said
in a quieter tone so that those who followed
them would not hear.
"Now please listen to what I have to say!
I want to tell you that your comedy not only
wearies me, but is beginning to anger me. I
am still too little a hysterical actress and too
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The Comedienne 237
much a normal woman to take pleasure in
such acting. I was never taught by my
mother, the secret code of a woman's conduct
toward a man, nor did they warn me of man's
falsehood and baseness. I observed^ that
quickly enough for myself, and see it every
day behind the scenes. You think that to
every woman who is in the theater you can
boldly talk about your love as though it were
some trifle, in the hope that perhaps she will
swallow your bait! Actresses are so plajrful
and so silly, aren't they?" she said with
stinging scorn. ''Would you dare to tell me
the same, if I were at home? No, you
wouldn't dare tell me you loved me, if you
didn't, for there, I would be a woman in your
eyes, while here I am only an actress ; for there,
I would have behind me a father, mother,
brothers or some convention which would
prohibit you from many things. But here,
you don't hesitate. And why? Because here
I am alone and an actress, that is a woman to
whom you can with imptmity tell lies, whom
you can with impunity possess and then cast
off and go your way without the slightest fear
of losing your reputation. Oh, you can be
sure, Mr. Kotlicki, that I will not become your
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238 The Comedienne
mistress, nor any other man's if I do not love
him! I have already thought much, too
much, about the matter to be deceived by fine
phrases!" She spoke rapidly, and her sharp
words fell like blows.
He trembled with impatience and gazed on
her in amazement. He did not know her,
and had not asstuned for a moment that he
would find an actress who would tell him such
things to his face. He gazed at her through
half-closed eyes, and stammered ever more
frequently, so immensely did he like her for her
courage. She fascinated him by her strength
of character and honesty, for by those words
she had spoken, by her face which faithfully
reflected all her inner feelings, and by the
sincere tones of her voice he began to perceive
that she was an honest and uncommon girl;
and in addition she was so beautiful!
''The whip was rawhide with leaden
weights at the end of it. You beat with a
womanly fury both the guilty and the inno-
cent," said Kotlicki, and seeing that Janina
did not answer he added after a while, ''Is this
not enough for you? If it would be possible
during that entire flagellation to kiss your
hands, I beg you to continue ..."
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The Comedienne 239
"Kotlicki! . . . Wait a minute there and
help us carry the baskets! ..." called
Wawrzecki.
The men carried the baskets with the pro-
visions, while the whole company walked
along the steep river bank, seeking a conven-
ient spot for a camping grotmd.
All about them the lonely wood rustled
softly with its young oak leaves and jtmiper
bushes. They halted under a grove of ver-
dant oaks. Behind them was the woodland
solitude while beneath them the Wisla gleamed
in the sunlight and murmured with its blue
waves breaking against the shore.
After the preliminary drinks and sandwiches
all became lively.
''Well, now let us drink the health of the
initiators of the outing!" cried Glogowski,
filling the glasses.
"Let us rather drink to the success of your
new play," cried several voices.
''No, that will not help it any ... it will
turn out a fiasco anyway ..."
"Perhaps Topolski will now reveal to us his
secret plan," said Kotlicki who was calmly
stretched out on his plaid beside Janina.
'Let that rest! After we have had plenty
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240 The Comedienne
to eat and still more to drink will be time
enough. Perhaps the ladies will imtie those
padkages," cried Wawrzecki.
Napkins were spread out on the grass and a
variety of dainties was brought forward and
set upon them amid laughter.
''That's nice, but where is the tea?"
exclaimed Janina.
Kotlicki jimiped up.
"The tea is here and also the samovar, only
you, sir, will have to go for some water. We
shall go together for it to the Wisla!" cried
Majkowska, shaking the charcoal out of a
pitcher.
Kotlicki frowned a bit, but went along with
her. In a few minutes the samovar was started,
Glogowski proving himself a real master.
"That is my specialty!" he shouted blow-
ing at the fire like a pair of bellows. "And I
must tell you ladies that very often, more often
than I like, I lack coal. It is then that my
inventive genius comes to the fore: I stoke the
fire with papers or, if that is also missing, I
pluck a board from the floor and, willy nilly,
the tea is produced."
"You must lead a very diversified life!"
remarked Topolski with a laugh.
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The Comedienne 241
"A trifle! Just a trifle . . . but I won't
say that I relish it."
*' I proclaim to all in general and to everyone
in particular that the tea is beginning to boil!
. . . Now, ladies, asstime the r61es of Hebes!"
called Glogowski.
Janina poured out the tea for all of them
before sitting down near Mimi.
"I am organizing a dramatic society,"
began Topolski.
"I will tell you the only way to do it: you
engage a few score of the theatrical tribe by
promising them high salaries and give them
small advances; you look for a lady treasurer
who is wise enough to have a bond and naive
enough to deposit it; with it you buy the
necessary accessories, have them sent on
account and you are ready either to begin,
or to break up. And in two months you can
repeat the same prescription imtil you get
results," jested Wawrzecki.
"Wawrzecki, quit your confoimded non-
sense!" cried the irritated Topolski, drinking
one glass of brandy after another. "That
kind of company any idiot can organize, any
Cabinski. I don't want a band of players who
will scatter to the four winds as soon as some
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242 The Comedienne
one lures them with th6 promise of a big
advance, but a strong organization with a
well-defined plan, an organization as solid as
a stonewall!"
''You often broke up companies yourself
and yet you think you can manage
actors? . . ." persisted Wawrzecki.
" I am sure of it. Listen all! This is how
I would go about it: condition one — about
five thousand rubles to begin with; I fish out
of all the companies their best forces, thirty
persons at most; I pay them moderately but
honestly; I assure dividends ..."
" Come now, you had better give up dream-
ing about dividends!" growled Kotlicki.
"There will be a dividend! there must
be!" cried Topolski with growing enthusiasm.
"I select my plays: a series of typical and
classical things; these will be the walls and
foimdations of my edifice; furthermore, all the
more important novelties and all the folk-
plays, but away with operetta, away with
clownishness, away with the circus, away with
everything that is not true art! I want to
have a theater and not a puppet show! artists
are not clowns!" he cried in an ever louder
voice.
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The Comedienne 243
Topolski began to cough so violently that all
the veins in his neck swelled like whipcords.
He coughed for a long time, then took a drink
of brandy and began talking again, but in a
quieter and slower voice, without looking at
anyone, or seeing anything beyond this dream
of his whole life, which he related in short
and tangled sentences.
Kotlicki, who was not stirred even for a
moment by that speech f till of inspiration as
well as illogicality, remarked: "You are a little
late. Antoine in Paris has long ago put into
practice what you propose; those are his
ideas . . ."
''No, those are my ideas, my dreams; for
twenty years already I am carrying them
within me!" cried Topolski, growing sud-
denly livid as though struck by lightning, and
gazing in a dazed way at Kotlicki.
"What of that, when others have already
partially realized those dreams and given
them their name ..."
"Thieves! they have stolen my idea! they
have stolen my idea!" shouted Topolski and
fell over half -senseless on the grass, covering
his face with his hands, sobbing convulsively
and stanmiering in a dnmken voice: "They
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244 The Comedienne
have stolen my idea! • . . Help! they have
stolen my idea!" And he continued to roll
about on the grass, sobbing like a grieved
child.
"Not because of the fact that that idea is
already known do I see the impossibility of
realizing such a project," began Glogowski
calmly, ''but because our public has not yet
reached the point where it is ready for such
a theater and does not feel the need of such a
stage. In the meanwhile, give them the farce
full of acrobatic stimts and leg-shows, a half-
naked ballet, cancan howling, a little, cheap
kitchen sentimentality, a heap of empty
phrases on the subject of virtue, morality, the
-family, duty, love, and ..."
"Coimt up to twenty ..." laughed
Kotlicki.
' ' Just as is the public, so are its theaters ; one
is worth as much as the other!" remarked
Majkowska.
"He who wants to rule the multitude and
rule over it, must flatter it and do that which
the multitude wants; he must give it that
which it needs; he must first be its slave so
that he may later become its master," said
Kotlicki slowly and with imction.
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The Comedienne 245
"I will say: no! I neither want to cringe
to the mob, nor be its master; I prefer to go
my own way alone . . ." answered Glogowski
emphatically.
"A splendid standpoint! From it you can
laugh at everyone to your heart's content."
" Miss Janina, please let me have some teal"
cried the already irritated Glogowski, spring-
ing up violently, throwing his hat at a tree
and feverishly rumpling his sparse hair.
"You are ever a fiery radical of native
breed," said Kotlicki with a good-natured
irony.
"And you are a poor fish, a seal, a
whale . . ."
"Coimt up to twenty!"
"Those are fine argimients, indeed! . . .
Here is a much better one," cried Wawrzecki,
handing Glogowski his cane.
Glogowski calmed himself, gazed around a
moment and began drinking his tea.
Majkowska was listening silefitly, while
Mimi, stretched out on Wawrzecki's over-
coat, was fast asleep.
Janina was serving tea to all and did not
lose a word of that conversation. She had
already forgotten about Grzesikiewicz, about
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246 The Comedienne
her father, and about her talk with Kotlicki,
and was entirely engrossed by the questions
that were now being discussed, while Topol-
ski's dreams fascinated her by their fantasies.
Such general discussions on art and artistic
subjects absorbed her entirely.
"What about your dramatic society? '* she
asked Topolski who was just raising his head.
*'It will be ... it must be formed!" an-
swered Topolski.
''I warrant you it will be," interposed
Kotlicki, "not the kind that Topolski desires
but that which will be the best within the
boimds of possibility. It will even be possible
to introduce certain improvements by way of
variety and attraction, but we shall leave the
reformation of the theater to someone else; for
that you would need htmdreds of thousands
of rubles and you would have to start it in
Paris."
"The reformation of the theater will not
originate with the managers, and as for
dramatic creativity, what is it really? . . •
The seeking of something in the dark, a dog-
like scenting about, an aimless straying, or
the antics of a flea. A genius must arrive to
revolutionize the modem theater; I already
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The Comedienne 247
have a feeling that one is coming . . .'*
asserted Glogowski.
''How is that? . . . Aren't the existing
masterpieces of the drama sufficient for creat-
ing an ideal theater?" queried Janina.
''No • . . those masterpieces belong to the
past; we need other works. For us those
masterpieces are a very important archeo-
logy," answered Glogowski.
"So in your estimation Shakespeare is
antiquated?"
" Sh ! let us not speak of him ; he is the whole
imiverse; we can merely contemplate him, but
never understand him . . ."
"And Schiller?"
"A Utopian and classic: an echo of the
Encyclopedists and the French Revolution.
He represents nobility, order, German doc-
trinarianism and pathetic and wearisome
declamation."
"And Goethe?" ventured Janina, who had
developed a great liking for Glogowski's para-
doxical definitions.
"That means only Faust, but Faust is so
complicated a machine that since the death of
the inventor no one knows how to wind it or
start it going. The conmientators push its
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248 The Comedienne
wheels, take it apart, clean it, and dust it,
but the machine will not go and already is
beginning to rust a little. . . . Moreover,
it is a ftuious aristocracy. That Mr. Faust is
first of all not the ideal type of man, but an
experimenter; he is nothing but the brain of
one of those learned rabbis who spend their
whole lives on pondering whether it is proper
to enter the synagogue with the right or the
left foot first; he is a vivisector, who, after
breaking the heart of Margaret in the process
of his experimentation, and fearing the threat
of imprisonment, and being unable by virtue of
his shortsightedness to see anything beyond
his study and his retorts, makes a sport of
complaining and laments that life is base and
knowledge is worthless. In truth, it requires
a great deal of genuinely German arrogance
to maintain when you have a catarrh that
everybody else has it or ought to have it."
"I prefer such merry works to your wise
plays,'' whispered Kotlicki.
''Oh, and what of Shelley and Byron?'*
begged Janina, whose interest was fully
aroused.
'* I prefer foolishness even when it presumes
to speak rather than when it seeks to create
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The Comedienne 249
something/' Glogowski hastily flung back at
Kotlidd.
''Aha, Byron! . . .Byron is a steam engine
producing a rebellious energy; a lord who was
dissatisfied in England and dissatisfied in
Venice with SuicioUa, for although he had a
warm climate and money he was bored. He
is a rebel-individualist, a strong, passionate
monster; a lord who is always seething with
fury and using all the forces of his wonderful
talent to spite his enemies. He slapped Eng-
land's face with masterpieces. He is a mighty
protestant out of boredom and in his own
personal interest."
''And Shelley?"
"Shelley again, is a divine lingo for the
public of Saturn ; he is the poet of the elements
and not for us mortals."
Glogowski became silent and went to pour
himself some tea.
"We are still listening; at least, I am wait-
ing with impatience for you to continue
your very interesting exposition," exclaimed
Janina.
"Very well, but I am going to skip over a
great many immortals so as to finish sooner."
"You can continue on the condition that
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250 The Comedienne
you'll do so without tinkling the bells and
beating the tambourine."
' ' Kotlicki, keep quiet ! You are a miserable
Philistine, a typical representative of your
base species and you are denied a voice when
human beings are speaking!"
''Gentlemen, please quit your arguing, for
I can't sleep," pitifully pleaded Mimi.
"Yes, yes, it isn't at all amusing!" added
Majkowska with a mighty yawn.
Wawrzecki began again to fill the glasses.
Glogowski moved close to Janina and began
enthusiastically to expoimd to her his theory.
"Ibsen makes a strange impression on me;
he foreshadows someone mightier than himself
who is yet to come ; he is like the light of dawn
before the rising sim. And as regards the
newest, over-praised and over-advertised Ger-
mans: Suderman and Company they are
merely a loud prating about small things;
much ado about nothing. They wish to con-
vince the world for instance that it is tmneces-
sary to wear suspenders with your trousers,
because you can sometimes wear them without
suspenders."
"So we have finally got to the point where
there are no more left to dispose of," inter-
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The Comedienne 251
posed Kotlicki. ''One got a whack over the
head, another a jab in the ribs, a third a very-
polite kick and so forth ..."
''No, my dear sir, / still remain!" rejoined
Glogowski, with a comical bow.
"We demolished vast edifices for the sake
of a soap bubble."
"Perhaps, but since even in soap bubbles
the Sim is reflected ..."
"Therefore, let us have another drink of
brandy!" exclaimed Topolski, who had been
silent up till now.
"Throw out all that argimientation to the
dogs! . . . Let us drink and quit thinking!"
chimed in Wawrzecki.
"That last statement is an epitome of your-
self, Wawrzecki!" remarked Glogowski.
"Let us drink and love one another!"
proposed Kotlicki, rousing himself and tink-
ling his glass against the bottle.
"To that I will agree, as I am Glogowski, I
will agree, for love alone is the soul of the
world!"
"Wait a minute, I will sing you something
about love," cried Wawrzecki, and he pro-
ceeded to drone an amorous ditty.
"Bravo Wawrzecki!" cried the entire com-
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252 The Comedienne
pany and with that they all abandoned them-
selves to pure merriment, ceased arguing and
babbled any nonsense that came to their lips.
"Most esteemed ladies and gentlemen! the
sky is beginning to cloud and on earth the
bottles are all empty. Let us beat a retreat!"
finally suggested Wawrzecki.
''But how?" chorused a few voices.
"We will go on foot, for it is not more than
a mile to Warsaw."
"We'll hire some husky fellow to carry the
baskets for us. I'll go and see if I can find
someone," said Wawrzecki, and he went off in
the direction of a monastery.
Before he returned all were ready for the
homeward journey. The general mood of
gayety had even risen, for Mimi was dancing
a waltz with Glogowski on the greensward.
Topolski was so drimk that he continually
kept talking to himself and quarreling with
Majkowska. Kotlicki smiled and kept close
to Janina who had become very sportive and
merry. She smiled at him and conversed
with him, hardly remembering his recent
proposal. He was sure that the impression
of it had merely glided over her soul andsimk
away in f orgetfulness.
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The Comedienne 253
They walked in disordered groups as is usual
after an outing. Janina was weaving a
wreath of oak leaves, while Kotlicki was helping
her and amusing her with piquant remarks.
She listened to him, but when they entered
into a bigger and real wood where the groimd
was covered with dense imderbrush, she sud-
denly became grave, gazed at the trees with
such great joy, touched their trtmks and
branches with such tenderness, her lips and
eyes glowed with such rapture, that Kotlicki
asked her, pointing to the trees: ''No doubt
they must be good friends of yours? "
"Yes indeed, good and sincere friends and j y'
not comedians ! " she replied with a light irony ,
in her voice. ^
"You have a very vengeful memory. You
neither believe, nor forgive. I desire only one
thing: to be able to convince you . . . ''
"Then marry me!" she exclaimed quickly,
turning towards him.
" I beg for your hand! '' he murmured in the
same tone.
They glanced straight into each other's
eyes and both suddenly became gloomy.
Janina knitted her brows and began imcon-
sciously to tear her imfinished wreath with her
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254 The Comedienne
teeth, while Kotlicki bowed his head and
became silent.
"Come, let us htirry, we shall be late for
the performance! " called someone, and they
hastened to catch up with the rest of the
company.
"So to-morrow there is to be a read re-
hearsal of my play?" Glogowski was asking
Topolski.
"To be exact, it will be only a reading of
the play itself, for Dobek has not yet finished
writing out the rdles," answered Topolski.
"Great Scott! and when do you expect to
present it?"
"Don't fear, the Philistines will hiss and
hoot you soon enough, without your hurry-
ing!" Kotlicki twitted him.
"We shall present it in a week from next
Tuesday ... at least I would have it so,"
replied Topolski.
"Or, strictly speaking, there will remain for
rehearsals and for the learning of the rdles only
four days. No one will know his part, no
one will be able to master it even passably in
so short a time. That's nothing short of mur-
der, cold-blooded murder!" cried Glogowski.
"You'll treat Dobek to a few whiskeys and
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The Comedienne 255
he will safely ptill the play through for you,"
suggested Wawrzecki.
"Yes, he will shout for everybody. ... As*
the matter stands, it is best to announce that
there will take place merely a reading of the
play."
"You needn't worry about me, I'll learn my
r61e," Majkowska assured him.
"And I also," added Janina.
" I know the ladies always know '^heir parts
but the men ..."
"The men will play their parts well without
having to learn them," remarked Wawrzecki.
"Don't you know that Glas never studies his
r61es! A few rehearsals familiarize him with
the situations of the play and the prompter
does the rest."
"That's why he plays so splendidly!"
sneered Glogowski.
"What do you want? He's a good actor
and not at all a bad comedian."
"Yes, because he always knows how to
improvise some nonsense with which to cover
up his bimgling."
" Please give me an entirely serious answer.
Were those last words of yours only a joke or
were they an expression of your wishes and a
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256 The Comedienne
condition?" Kotlicki again whispered to Ja-
nina as a certain idea entered into his head.
''Every variety is good, providing it is not
wearisome. Have you heard that before?"
answered Janina impatiently.
''Thank you! I will remember it. . . •
But do you know this: patience is the first
condition of success."
Kotlicki glanced at her quizzically, bowed
to her with his head, and retired among the
rest of the company. He possessed a brazen
self-confidence and decided, at all events, to
wait.
Kotlicki was not one of those whom a
woman can drive away from herself with scorn
or even with insults. He accepted everything
and carefully stored it away in his memory for
a future reckoning. He was a man who had
a contempt for women, who told people what
he thought to their very faces, and who
always craved women and love. He ignored
the fact that he was ugly, for he knew he was
rich enough to buy any woman that he might
desire. He belonged to that category of men
— ^which is ready for anything.
He now walked along smiling at some
thought that was in his mind, and striking
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The Comedienne 257
with his cane the weeds that were in his
path.
It grew dark and the rain began to fall in
large drops.
"We will get drenched like chickens!"
laughed Mimi, opening her parasol.
''Miss Janina, my umbrella is at your
service, ' ' called Glogowski.
''Thank you very much, but as far as I
am able, I do not use any protection against
the rain; I just dote on getting wet in the
rain."
"You have the instincts of . . ."he broke
off suddenly and pressed his hand to his mouth
with a comical gesture.
"Finish what you began to say . . . please
do . . ."
"You have the instincts of fish and geese.
... I am curious to know how they have
developed in you."
Janina smiled, for she remembered her old
autumn and winter tramps through the woods
in the greatest storms and rainfalls, and she
answered merrily: "I like such things. I am
used from my childhood to endure rains and
rough weather ... I am simply wild about
storms."
17
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258 The Come^dienne
'' My, what fiery blood! It must be some-
thing atavistic."
''It's merely a habit or an inner need which
' has grown to the proportions of a passion."
^ Glogowski offered his arm to Janina; she
accepted and began to relate to him in an easy,
friendly tone the various adventures she had
experienced on her excursions in the country .
She felt as unrestrained in his company as
though she had known him from childhood.
At moments she would even forget that this
was the first time in her life that she had met
him. She was won over to him by his bright
and happy face and by the somewhat mild
sincerity of his character; she felt in him a
brotherly and honest soul.
Glogowski listened to her, answered her
questions, and observed her with curiosity.
Finally, choosing an appropriate moment, he
said frankly: ''May the deuce take me, but
you are an interesting woman, a very interest-
ing one! I will tell you something; just now
a certain thought struck me and I offer it to
you hot from the griddle, only don't think it
strange. I detest conventionality, social hypo-
crisy, the affectation of actresses, etc., count
up to twenty! . . . and that is just what I fail,
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The Comedienne 259
as yet, to see in you. Oho! I immediately
noticed that you were free from all that.
Frankly, I like you as a certain type that one
meets very rarely. It is interesting, interest-
ing!" he repeated, almost to himself. ''We
might become friends!" he cried delightedly,
speaking his thoughts aloud, ''For, although
women always disappoint me, because sooner
or later the female of the species crops out in
every one of them, still, a new experiment
might be worth something. ..."
"Frankness in return for frankness," said
Janina, laughing at the lightning-like swift-
ness with which he formed determinations.
*' You also are an interesting specimen."
"Well, then, we agree! Let us shake and
be good friends!" he exclaimed, extending his
hand.
"But I haven't yet finished what I wanted
to say: I must tell you that I do without
confidants and friends entirely. That smacks
of sentimentality and is not very safe."
"Bosh! Friendship is worth more than
love. I see it's beginning to pour in earnest.
It is the dogs crying over rejected friendship.
I shall have the opportunity of meeting you
more often, shall I not? For you have within
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26o The Comedienne
you something . . . something like a piece of
a certain kind of sotil that one comes across
very rarely."
"I am at the theater every day for re-
hearsals and almost every day at the per-
formances."
"Oh the deuce take it, that won't do at all!
If I attended on you for only once a week, it
would give rise to so much gossip, twaddle, sur-
mises,"
"Oh I don't care what people say about
me!" Janina^ laughed with an easy air.
"Ho! ho! I see you are of the fighting
variety ... a regular gamecock! I like a
person who treats with scant ceremony that
old rag called public opinion."
"I think that as long as I have nothing to
reproach myself with, I can listen calmly to
what they saj" about me."
"Pride, a capital pride!"
"Why don't you bring out your play in the
Warsaw Theater?"
"Because they did not want to produce it.
That, you see, is a very elegant and highly
perfumed establishment and only for a very
delicate and subtly feeling public, while my
play does not smell a bit of the salon; at the
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The Comedienne 261
most, it smells of the fields, a little of the woods
and a trifle of the peasant's hut. There they
want, not truth, but flirtation, conventionality
bltiffing, etc., coimt up to twenty. Moreover,
I had no backing, and they already have their
patented play mantifacturers."
''I thought it was only necessary to write
something good and they would immediately
produce it "
''Great Scott! No! . . . quite the reverse
is true. Just look how much I must bear
before even such as Cabinski presents my
play! . . . Now raise that to the fourth
power and only then will you have some
conception of the joys of a beginning comedy
writer, who, in addition, does not know how
to secure patronage for his plays."
They became silent. The rain fell inces-
santly and was already forming big puddles
of water along the road. Glogowski gazed
gloomily at the city whose towers appeared
outlined upon the misty horizon.
' ' A base city ! " he grumbled angrily. * * For
three years I have vainly been trying to con-
quer it. I am struggling and killing myself,
and yet, not even a dog knows me.*'
" If you keep on telling them that they are
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262 The Comedienne
base knaves and fools you will never conquer
them."
"I will. They will not love me, to be sure,
but they will have to reckon with me, they
must ! However, such citadels are most easily
stormed by actors, singers, and dancers. They
make a clean sweep of everything with only
one appearance."
''But their triumph is only for a day.
After they have left the stage all trace of them
is lost like that of a stone cast into the water! "
said Janina with a certain bitterness, gazing
fixedly at the ever nearer appearing, crowded
walls of Warsaw. Only at that moment did
she realize that the fame of which she dreamed
was merely the fame of a day.
''It seems to me that you have an appetite
for the same thing that I have," remarked
Glogowski.
"I have!" she answered with emphasis and
her voice resounded with the explosive force of
something that had been long pent up.
"I have!" she repeated, but this time in a
much quieter tone and without enthusiasm.
The light died away in Janina's eyes and they
strayed aimlessly over those heights of the
city in the distance, without understanding
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The Comedienne 263
anything, for she was perturbed by the
thought of that ephemeral fame, for she
remembered the faded wreaths of Cabinska
and the bygone fame of Stanislawski, for she
was thinking with growing bitterness of those
thousands of famous actors who were dead
and whose names even were forgotten. Jan-
ina felt a distressing conflict of feelings in her
breast. She leaned more heavily on Glogow-
ski's arm and walked on without saying
another word.
At Zakroczymska Street they took a hack;
Kotlicki jumped in and went along with them,
forming a party of three. Janina eyed him
angrily, but he pretended he did not notice it
and gazed at her with his everlasting smile.
Glogowski and Kotlicki accompanied her to
her home. She had only enough time left to
rush into the house, change her dress, take the
things she needed and immediately start off
again for the theater.
Because of the rain a few of the other
chorus girls were also late. Cabinski, expect-
ing an empty house on accotmt of the weather,
was irritated and rushed up and down the
stage, shouting to all those who were enter-
ing: ''I see you girls are getting lazy. It is
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264 The Comedienne
already past eight o'clock and not one of you
is yet dressed."
''We have been attending vespers at the
Chtirch of St. Charles of Borromeus," ex-
plained Zielinska.
"Don't try to fool me with vespers! The
deuce with vespers! Tend to that which
gives you your bread! "
"You provide us so generously with it, Mr.
Director!" angrily retorted Louise.
* ' What, I don't pay you? What else do you
live on?"
"What do we live on? . . . Certainly
not your absurd and merely promised sal-
anes!
"Oh, and you are also late?" he cried to
Janina who was just entering.
"I appear only in the third act, so I still
have plenty of time."
"Wicek! go run and get Miss Rosinska.
Where is Sophie? Hurry up and begin ! May
the devil take you all!" shouted Cabinski
growing exasperated.
He peered through the slit in the curtain.
"The theater is already filled, by God, and
not a soul is, as yet, in the dressing-rooms!
Afterwards they complain that I don't pay
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The Comedienne 265
them! Gentlemen! for God's sake, hurry and
get dressed and begin!"
"Right away, as soon as we finish this
game."
A few imdressed actors with their make-up
half -completed were playing a game of poker.
Stanislawski alone sat in a comer of the dress-
ing-room before his mirror and was making up
his face. Already for the third time he was
rubbing off the paint with a towel and mak-
ing up anew. He gymnasticated his mouth,
contracted his brows in anger, puckered his
forehead and cast all sorts of glances. He was
rehearsing a character and with each change of
his physiognomy, he mtmibled beneath his
breath the corresponding parts of his r61e, only
now and then tossing in the direction of the
card players a ten-copeck piece and two words :
*'Afour . . . ten coppers!"
* ' The public is starting a rumpus ! It's time
to ring and begin!" pleaded Cabinski.
''Don't disturb us. Director. Let them
wait. . . i A tnmip! . . . Shell out the
coin!"
"A jack . . . you pay!"
"A queen of hearts . . . hand over five
shekles!"
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266 The Comedienne
"All's ready! Stake something on Desde-
mona, Director," cried one of the players,
shuffling and stacking the cards.
" She will betray me! " hissed Cabinski.
''Doesn't she betray you anyway?"
"Ring!" shouted Cabinski to the stage-
director, hearing a stamping of feet in the hall.
For a few minutes nothing was heard but the
rustling of cards, falling with lightning-like
rapidity upon the table.
"Four aces . . . you're done for!"
"Shell out!"
"Ajack!"
"A five . . . that's good. I'll at least
make something."
"A queen of hearts."
"Have some consideration for the ladies!"
persisted Cabinski.
' ' A queen of spades. Shell out ! "
"Enough of that! Hurry and dress your-
selves! The audience is already beginning to
howl."
"If that amuses them, why interfere?"
"You'll change your minds about it, if they
leave the theater and demand their money
back!" cried Cabinski, rushing out in utter
desperation.
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The Comedienne 267
The actors threw down their cards and all
began to dress themselves in feverish haste
and to complete their make-up.
"What do we play first?"
''TheVowr
''Stanislawski!"
"You can ring, I am coming! " called Stanis-
lawski, as he slowly made his way to the
stage.
"Hurry! or they'll wreck the theater!"
cried Cabinski in the doorway.
They were giving a so-called "dramatic
bouquet," or "as you like it," that is: a comic
sketch, a one-act operetta, a scene from a
drama and a solo dance. Almost the entire
company took part in the performance.
Janina sat behind the scenes and watched
the stage, waiting for her turn. She felt
greatly overwrought by the happenings of
that entire day. She closed her eyes and
became rapt in a quiet meditation of the
words of Grzesikiewicz, who had again
rectirred to her memory, but suddenly, she
started with a shudder, for behind his face she
saw emerging the satyr-like face of Kotlicki
with its mocking smile; then, there passed
before her mind a vision of Glogowski with his
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268 The Comedienne
large head and kindly look. She rubbed her
eyes as though to drive those visions away
from her, but that smile of Kotlicki would not
leave her memory.
"What a disgusting poodle that Rosinska
is!" whispered Majkowska, standing before
Janina.
Janina roused herself and looked up at
Majkowska with a certain dissatisfaction.
What interest did all that have for her at the
present moment? And she already began to
feel vexed and impatient at that eternal bat-
tle of all with everybody. She wasn't a bit
concerned about Rosinska, whose acting was,
in reality, impossible, and nauseatingly senti-
mental.
" Cabinski would do well to keep her off the
stage," continued Majkowska without heeding
Janina's silence, but she broke off quickly, for
there approached them just then Sophie,
Rosinska's daughter, who was to dance a solo
pas with a shawl.
She stood beside Majkowska, all dressed
for the dance. In that costimie she looked
like a girl of twelve; her figure was undeve-
loped, her face was thin and mobile, while her
gray eyes and cynically contorted, carmined
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The Comedienne 269
lips wore the expression of an experienced
courtesan. She watched the acting of her
mother, hissing between her teeth with dis-
satisfaction. Finally, she bent over toward
Majkowska and whispered so that Janina
could not hear her: ''Just look how that old
woman is playing!"
''Who? Your mother?"
"Yes. Just look at the eyes she is making
at that fellow in the high hat ! Hopping about
like an old turkey hen, too! Gee whiz, how
she has dolled herself up! She's bent on
making herself look yotmg and doesn't even
know how to make up her face decently. I
am ashamed of her. She thinks that all are
such fools that they will not notice her arti-
ficial beauty. Ha ! ha ! She can't fool me, for
one. When she dresses, she locks herself up
so as not to let me see how she pads and pieces
herself together, ha! ha! " she laughed with an
almost hostile expression. "Those men are
such simps that they believe everything they
see. . . . She buys everything for herself and I
can't even beg money for a parasol from her."
"Sophie, who ever heard of speaking that
way about one's mother!" Majkowska
reproved her.
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270 The Comedienne
* * Oh slush ! a mother isn't anything so great !
In about four years I can become a mother
myself, a few times, if I want to; but I'm not
so foolish as all that ... no kids for mine,
not on your life! I'd have to be some fool!'
"You are a nasty and silly kid! I'm going
to tell your mother immediately ..." indig-
nantly whispered Majkowska, walking away.
"She's a silly fool herself, even though she
is an actress of standing." Sophie hurled
after her, pouting her lips spitefully.
"Stop that! You're preventing me from
hearing what is being said on the stage."
"You won't lose much, Miss Janina! The
old woman has a voice like a cracked pot,"
continued Sophie tmabashed.
Janina made an impatient motion.
"And if you only knew how she lies to me!
At Lublin there came to our house a certain
gentleman named Kulasiewicz, whom I called
'Kulas' for he never even brought me any
candy. She spanked me for it and told me
that he was my father. . . . Ha! ha! ha! I
know what kind of 'fathers' they are. . . .
At Lublin, there was Kulas, at Lodz, Kaminski
and now, she has two of them. . . . She tries
to hide the fact, and thinks that I envy her.
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The Comedienne 271
I'd have to be some fool for that! Such
penniless jiggers you can pick up anywhere
by the bushel . . /'
"Stop that, Sophie, you are a wicked girl!"
whispered Janina, boiling with indignation at
the cynicism of that actor's child.
''What's wrong in what I say? Isn't it
true?" she answered with a wonderful accent
of true innocence.
"You ask me what's wrong! Where will
you find another child who says such horrid
things about her mother?"
"Well, why is she such a fool? All of the
other actresses have lovers who at least have
money, while she . . . look at what she's
got! I also would be better off if she were
wiser. . . . Believe me, when I grow up, I'll
not be such a fool as she! ..."
Janina staggered back, staring at her in
amazement, but Sophie did not tmderstand
that and, bending more closely over her,
whispered significantly: "Have you already
got someone, Miss Janina?"
She hurried away immediately, for the cur-
tain had already descended and her dance was
to begin right away in the entr' acte.
Janina shuddered as though something
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272 The Comedienne
unclean had touched her. A cold chill passed
through her and a blush of shame and humili-
ation covered her face.
''What filth!" she whispered to herself;
Sophie, imconscious of her was all smiling and
radiant on the stage.
Sophie's long thin mouth like that of a
greyhoimd merely flashed now and then in the
wild tempo of the waltz she was performing.
She danced with such temperament and skill
that a storm of applause greeted her. Some-
one even threw her a bouquet. She picked it
up and, retreating from the stage, smiled
coquettishly like a veteran actress, sniffing in
with distended nostrils those signs of the pub-
lic's satisfaction.
"Miss Janina," she cried behind the scenes.
* * Look, I got a bouquet ! Now Cabinski must
give me a raise. They came especially to see
me dance . . . Do you hear how they are
recalling me!" and she leaped out upon the
open stage to bow to the public.
''Your stage prating isn't worth a fig!" she
said to the actresses. "If it weren't for the
dance the theater would be empty." And
she pirouetted on tiptoe, laughed triumphantly
and went off to her dressing-room.
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The Comedienne 273
The company had begun to play an act of a
very lachrymose drama entitled The Daughter
of Fahricius. Topolski appeared in the r61e of
Fabricius and Majkowska impersonated his
daughter. They played entirely well although
Topolski was still so drunk that He didn't
know where he was, but he nevertheless acted
so perfectly that no one was aware of it. Only
Stanislawski stood behind the scenes and
laughed aloud at his automatic motions and
the blank expression of his eyes. Majkowska
was upholding Topolski every now and then,
for he would have fallen on the stage.
"Mirowska! come here and see how they
are acting!'* called Stanislawski to the old
actress who was to-day apathetically disposed,
his eyes glowing with feverish animosity.
*' That is my r61e ! I ought to be playing it.
Look what he has made of it, ^Ihe drunken
beast!" he hissed between his tightly set
teeth. And when, applause, that was in spite
of everything, merited, broke out, Stanislaw-
ski became pale with rage and grasped at one
of the scenes to keep from falling over, so
great an envy was choking him.
"Cattle! Cattle!" he whispered hoarsely,
shaking his fist threateningly at the public.
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274 The Comedienne
Then he went to look for the stage-director
but being unable to find him, came back. He
continued to walk about excited and angry,
scarcely able to stand on his feet.
"My daughter! . . . My beloved child! so
you do not spurn your aged father? . . . You
press to your pure heart your criminal father?
. . . You do not flee from his tears and
kisses?" came floating from the stage Topol-
ski's ardent whisper and struck the old actor
so forcibly that he stood still, thrilled by the
acting, forgot entirely about his envy, repeated
those words in a whisper and put into those
quiet accents of fatherly love so much feeling
and tears, so much blood and inspiration and
appeared at the same time so funny standing
in the dim light behind the scenes with hands
pathetically outstretched into empty space,
with head bent forward and eyes fixed upon
the rope of the curtain, that Wicek, who saw
him, ran to the dressing-room crying : ' ' Gentle-
men, come and see Stanislawski showing
something new behind the scenes."
They all rushed in a crowd to view the sight
and, seeing him still standing in the same
pathetic pose, burst out laughing in imison.
*'Ha! ha! a South American monkey!"
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The Comedienne 275
"That is an African mammoth, that has
lived for a htmdred years, devoured htiman
beings, devoured paper, devoured r61es, de-
voured fame tmtil it died from indigestion,''
cried Wawrzecki, imitating the voice and
speech of a provincial showman.
Stanislawski suddenly roused himself,
glanced in back of him and encotmtering the
derisive gazes that were centered on him,
trembled, and sadly dropped his head upon his
breast.
Janina who had witnessed this entire scene
and who in the moments of the old actor's
ecstasy had not even dared to move a finger
for fear of disturbing him, could no longer
restrain herself when she saw tears in his eyes
and that whole band of cattle jeering at him.
She walked up to Stanislawski and kissed his
hand with involtmtary respect.
''My child! my child!" he whispered feebly
ttUTiing his head to hide the tears that were
streaming from his eyes ever more profusely.
He pressed her hand tightly and went out.
A storm of wild sorrow, pain, and hatred
shook Stanislawski so violently that he could
scarcely descend the stairs. He went out into
the hall, encompassed the stage and the public
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276 The Comedienne
with a gaze of unspeakable sadness and walked
across the veranda toward the street, but
turned about abruptly and remained.
'*He would make a very venerable guard-
ian!'' cried someone to Janina after Stanis-
lawski's departure.
*'He might organize a new company and
play lovers together with her ! '' added another
voice.
''Jackals! Jackals!'* cried Janina aloud,
staring defiantly at them. And she had a
great desire to spit in the eyes of all those
cowards, so violent a wave of hatred surged
through her and so base and cruel did they all
appear to her. She restrained herself how-
ever, and resumed her seat, but for a long time
could not calm herself.
When Janina went on the stage with the
chorus, she was still trembling and agitated
and the first person she saw in the audience
was Grzesikiewicz who sat in the front row
of seats. Their eyes met; he made a motion
as though he wanted to leave, while she stood
amazed for one brief instant in the center of
the stage, but immediately collected herself,
for she also spied Kotlicki sitting not far away
and closely observing Grzesikiewicz and fur-
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The Comedienne 277
ther on Niedzielska who was standing near
the stalls and smiling at her in a friendly
manner.
Janina did not look at Grzesikiewicz, but
she felt his eyes upon her and that began to
add to her agitation and excitement. She
remembered that she had on short skirts and a
peculiar shame filled her at the thought that
she was standing before him in these gaudy,
theatrical togs. It is impossible to describe
what took place within her. Never before
had she felt like this. In her stage appear-
ances she usually gazed at the public with
an expression of aloofness as on a foolish and
slavish throng, but to-day it seemed to her
as though she were standing in the front part
of a huge cage like some animal on exhibition,
while that audience had come to view her and
amuse itself with her antics. For the first
time she saw that smile which was not on any
particular face, but which, nevertheless, hov-
vered over all faces and seemed to fill the
theater; it was a smile of indulgent and
imconscious irony, a smile of crushing supe-
riority that is seen on the faces of older people
when they watch the plajdng of children. She
felt it everywhere.
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278 .The Comedienne
Afterwards Janina saw only the eyes of
Grzesikiewicz immovably fixed upon her.
She violently tore herself away from that
gaze and looked in another direction, but saw,
nevertheless, how Grzesikiewicz got up and
left the theater. To be sure, she was not
waiting for him, nor did she expect to see him
again, yet his departure touched her painfully.
She gazed as though with a certain feeling of
disappointment at the empty seat which he
had occupied just a moment ago and then she
retreated with the chorus to the back of the
stage.
Glas stood before the very box of the
prompter and quietly and significantly began
to knock with his foot to Dobek for he was to
sing some solo part of which, as was his usual
custom, he did not know a single word. Halt
signaled to him with his baton and Glas with
a comically atttmed face began to sing some
remembered word and strain his ears for a cue
from Dobek, but Dobek was silent.
Halt rapped at his desk energetically, but
Glas kept on singing one and the same thing
over and over again, whispering pleadingly to
Dobek in the pauses : ' ' Prompt ! Prompt ! ' '
The chorus, scattered at the back of the
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The Comedienne 279
stage, began to be confused by the situation,
while behind the scenes someone began to
recite aloud to Glas, the words of the unfortu-
nate song, but Glas, all perspiring and red with
anger and emotion kept on singing, in a circle:
''You are mine, oh lovely Rose!*' without
hearing anything, or knowing what was going
on about him.
''Prompt!'* he whispered once more in
despair, for already the orchestra and a part of
the audience had noticed what was happening
and was laughing at him. He kicked Dobek
in the face and suddenly stood mute and
motionless, gazing with a blank expression at
the public, for Dobek, having received a kick
in the teeth, grabbed Glas by the leg and held
him tightly.
"Do you see, my boy! Next time don't
try to get frisky!" whispered the prompter,
holding Glas so tightly by the leg that he
could not move. "You are done for! You
tried to fix Dobek, now Dobek has fixed you!
Now we are even!'*
The situation was saved by Halt and Kacz-
kowska who began to sing the following
number. Dobek let go Glas's leg, retreated
as deeply as he could into his box and calmly
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28o The Comedienne
continued to prompt from memory, smiling
good-naturedly at Cabinski, who was shaking
his fist threateningly at him from behind the
scenes.
Janina had not yet succeeded in making out
what was happening at the front of the stage,
for she saw Grzesikiewicz returning with a
large bouquet in his hand. He resumed his
former seat and only when the chorus again
appeared on the proscenium did he rise, walk
over to the orchestra and throw the flowers at
Janina's feet. Then he turned about calmly,
passed through the hall and vanished, without
caring that he had called forth a sensation
in the theater.
The girl automatically picked up the flowers
and retreated to the back of the stage behind
her companions, feeling the eyes of the whole
audience centered upon her.
*'Is there a 'soul' in it?'' whispered Ziel-
iaska, pointing to the bouquet.
'*Look in the center of the flowers, perhaps
you will find something among them,'* another
one of the chorus girls whispered to her.
Janina did not look, but felt a deep gratitude
toward Grzesikiewicz for those flowers. After
the curtain fell she left the stage without pay-
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The Comedienne 281
ing any attention to the violent quarrel that
broke out between Glas and Dobek.
Glas was jumping with rage, while Dobek
was slowly putting on his overcoat and calmly
and taimtingly answering: *' An eye for an eye.
Sweet is vengeance to the human heart.*'
He had revenged himself for the trick that
Glas had played on him on the foregoing day
when he had got Dobek drunk and together
with Wladek made him up as a negro. Dobek
as soon as he had sobered a bit had calmly gone
straight from the saloon to the theater with-
out knowing what had happened to his
physiognomy. They had a roaring good time
behind the scenes, but Dobek swore vengeance
and kept his word, threatening in addition that
he would yet get square with Wladek.
Cabinski, irritated by what had happened
on the stage, said all kinds of things to Glas,
but the latter did not answer him, so deeply
humiliated was he by his breakdown on the
stage.
Janina all dressed in her street attire, was
only waiting for Sowinska to go home with
her, when Wladek sidled up to her and softly
asked:
** Will youallowmetoaccompany you? . . ."
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282 The Comedienne
'* I am going with Sowinska and besides you
live in another part of the city/' answered
Janina.
''Sowinska has just requested me to tell you
that she will not return for an hour. She is
at the director's house/'
"Well then, let us go."
*' Perhaps your bouquet is in the way, let me
carry it for you . . .''he said, extending his
hand to take the flowers.
''Oh no, thank you. . . ." answered Janina.
•'It must be very precious! . . ."he said,
emphasizing his words with a laugh.
"I don't know how much it costs," she an-
swered coldly, showing no disposition to
converse with him.
Wladek laughed, then he spoke about his
mother and finally said: "Perhaps you will
come to see us? My mother is ill and for a few
days she has not left her bed."
' * Your mother is ill? Why, I saw her in the
theater to-day."
"Is that possible!" he cried in real confu-
sion. " I give you my word that I was certain
she was ill . . . for my mother told me that
for a few days she has not risen from her
bed. . . .
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The Comedienne 283
"My mother is trying some scheme on
me . . /'he finally added with a frown.
Old Niedzielska was merely continually and
persistently spying on him and always had to
know with whom he was carrying on a ro-
mance, for she constantly trembled at the
thought that Wladek might marry some
actress.
He took leave of Janina with an attitude of
exaggerated respect at the very door of her
house and told her that he must go to see^ his
mother to convince himself about her illness.
As soon as Janina had entered the house,
Wladek went to the theater and, meeting
Sowinska, held a long and secret conversation
with her. The old woman eyed him derisively
and promised him her support.
Then he hurried away to Krzykiewicz's
house for a game of cards, for they would often
arrange such card-playing evenings now at
this, now at another actor's home, to which
they would invite many of their friends from
the public.
Janina, having entered her room, placed
her flowers in a vase with water and, retiring
to sleep, gazed once more at the roses and
tenderly whispered: *'How good he is!"
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CHAPTER VIII
"Please miss, here's the circular!" cried
Wicek, entering Janina's room.
''What is the news? . . /'
''The reading of that new play, or some-
thing like that!'' he replied prying about the
room.
Janina signed her name to the circular in
which the stage-manager summoned the entire
company to appear at noon for the reading
of Glogowski's play The Churls.
"A fine bouquet!" exclaimed Wicek, eyeing
the flowers standing in the vase. ' ' You might
still melt it. ..."
"Speak like a human being!" said Janina,
handing back the signed paper.
"That means I could still sell that bouquet
for you."
" But who sells such bouquets and who buys
them? ..."
"Pardon me, miss, but I see you are still
green! Some ladies as soon as they receive
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The Comedienne 285
flowers, sell them to the old woman who
peddles flowers in the evening at the theater.
I coxild get a ruble easy for that. If you would
give it tome . . ."
''You can't have it. . . . But here's some-
thing else for you."
Wicek humbly kissed Janina's hand, over-
joyed with the ruble she gave him.
After Wicek's departure Janina changed the
water in the vase with the flowers and was just
standing it on the table when Sowinska
entered with her breakfast.
Sowinska was to-day all radiant: her gray,
owlish eyes were beaming with unaccustomed
friendliness.
The old woman stood the coffee on the table
and, pointing to the bouquet, remarked with a
smile : ' * What beautiful flowers ! Are they from
that gentleman who was here yesterday?"
"Yes," came the curt reply.
"I know someone who would be very
pleased to send you the same kind every
day. ..." Sowinska spoke in a tone of pre-
tended indifference, as she tidied the room.
' ' Flowers ? ' ' asked Janina.
"Well . . . and something more, if it were
accepted."
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286 The Comedienne
**That person would have to be quite a
fool."
"Don't you know that love makes fools of
everyone?"
''That may be," answered Janina curtly.
** Don't you surmise who it is?"
''I'm not at all curious."
"Yet, you know him very well."
"Thank you, but I don't need any
information."
"Don't get angry. . . . What is there
wrong in it? . . ." slowly drawled Sowinska.
"Ah, so it is you who presume to tell me
that? ..."
"Yes I, and you know that I wish you as
well as I wish my own daughter."
"You wish me as well as your own daugh-
ter?" slowly repeated Janina, looking straight
into the other's face.
Sowinska dropped her eyes and silently
left the room, but behind the door she paused
and shook her fist threateningly.
' ' You saint ! Wait ! ' ' she hissed.
When Janina reached the theater she f oimd
only Piesh, Topolski, and Glogowski present.
Glogowski approached her with a smile,
extending his hand.
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The Comedienne 287
* ' Good morning. I was thinking about you
yesterday; you must unfailingly thank me
for that. ..."
''I do thank you! But I'm curious to
know . . ."
''I assure you I didn't think ill about you.
. . . I didn't think about you as others of my
sex would think about such beautiful women
as you, no! May I croak if I did! I thought
. . . 'Where does your strength come"
from?'"
'*No doubt from the same source as weak-
ness comes from; it's inherent," answered
Janina seating herself.
*' You must have some nice little dogma and
with your mind fixed on that you go forward.
That dogma has reddish-yellow hair, a yearly
income of about ten thousand rubles, he wears
binoculars and ..." jested Topolski.
''And . . . forget the rest of it! It's
always time enough for nonsense, that
never grows old," Glogowski interrupted
Topolski.
"You'll also drink with us, won't you. Miss
Janina?"
"Thank you! I don't drink."
"But you must . . . if it be only to moisten
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288 The Comedienne
yotir lips. It is the beginning of the funeral
celebration over my play," joked Glogoivski.
' * Exaggeration ! ' ' miimbled Piesh.
.*'Well, we shall see! Come on, Mr. Piesh,
Mr. Topolski, let's have another," cried
Glogowski, pouring out the cognac.
He smiled and joked continually, led the
arriving actors to the buffet and seemed very
lively, but one could see that under his forced
gayety there was a hidden anxiety and doubt
regarding the success of his play.
On the veranda a noisy little revel had
begun, where Glogowski was treating every-
body, but the humors of all those present
seemed to be partially dampened by the driz-
zling weather. Cabinski every now and then
gazed up at the sky, took oflf his top hat and
scratched his head with dissatisfaction. Pepa
walked about as glum as an autumn day . . .
Majkowska glared at Topolski with fiery eyes
and seemed to have a great desire to create
a scene, for her lips were pale and her eyes red,
either from crying or sleeplessness. Glas also
stalked about like a poisoned man after
yesterday's fiasco and failed to utter a single
one of his usual jokes. Razowiec was exanmi-
ing his tongue in a mirror and lamenting to
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The Comedienne 289
Mrs. Piesh. Even Wawrzecki was not *'in
the proper situation," as he chose to describe
his indisposition.
'*It is half -past twelve. . . . Come, let's
begin to read the play," said Topolski, the
stage-manager.
A table was pushed out into the center of the
stage, chairs were placed aroimd it and Topol-
ski, amied with a pencil, began to read.
Glogowski did not sit down, but kept walk-
ing about in big circles and every time he
passed Janina he would whisper some remark
at which she laughed quietly, while he con-
tinued to pace about, rumple his hair, throw
his hat into the air and smoke one cigarette
after another, all the time, however, listening
attentively to the reading.
Outside the rain continued to drizzle and
the water dripped monotonously down the
drainpipes. The drab, dull daylight streamed
in upon the stage. Glas amused himself by
throwing cigarette butts at Dobek's nose, while
Wladek gently blew at the head of the dozing
Mirowska. From the dressing-room came the
buzz of a saw cutting wood and the hammer-
ing of nails — ^it was the stage mechanician pre-
paring his props for the evening performance.
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290 The Comedienne
**Mr. Glogowski, we shall have to cut
out a little here," remarked Topolski occa-
sionally.
*'Go ahead!" Glogowski would reply, con-
tinuing his promenade.
The whispers grew louder.
*'Kaminska will you go downtown with
me? I want to buy some material for a
dress."
** All right, we shall look over some autiram
capes while we're at it."
*' What is that going to be? ... an inser-
tion?" Rosinska asked Mrs. Piesh who was
busily crocheting something.
*'Yes, do you see what a nice design it is?
I got a sample from the directress."
Agjain there followed a moment of complete
silence in which was heard nothing but the
even voice of the stage-manager, the dripping
of the rain and the buzz of the saw in the
dressing-room.
**Let me have a cigarette," said Wawrzecki
turning to Wladek. *'Did you win anything
at cards yesterday? "
**I lost, as usual, just as I was on the point
of making a big haxil of three hundred rubles.
Some luck, eh? ... A certain plan has
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The Comedienne 291
occtirred to my mind! ..." Wladek leaned
over toward Wawrzecki and began to whisper
secretly into his ear.
"What have you done about your living
quarters?" Krzykiewicz asked Glas, handing
him a cigarette.
*'0h, nothing, I'm still living in the same
place."
"Are you paying your rent?"
'*Not yet, but soon!" answered the come-
dian, winking one of tis eyes.
''Listen Glas! I heard that Cabinski is
buying a house on Leszno Street."
"What are you trying to tell me! By Gad,
I'd immediately move into it to make up for
the salary he owes me. Where would he get
the money?"
" Ciepieszewski saw him with the agents who
have the house for sale."
"Nurse!" called Cabinska.
The nurse hastily entered carrying a letter
under her apron.
"It wasn't I, it was Felka who broke that
looking-glass. She threw a champagne bottle
aiming at the chandelier, but struck the mirror
instead. Bang ! and immediately thirty rubles
were added to the bill. That fat guy of hers
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292 The Comedienne
merely frowned," one of the chorus girls was
relating.
'* Don't lie! I was not drunk and I remem-
ber exactly who broke it," retorted Felka.
** You remember do you? Do you also re-
member how you jumped oflf the table and then
took oflf your shoes and . . . ha! ha! ha! ha!"
*'Be quiet there!" sharply called Topolski
to the chorus girls.
They subdued their voices, but Mimi began
almost aloud to tell Kaczkowska about a new
style of hat she had seen on Long Street.
"If it goes on that way much longer, I
won't be able to stand it! The landlord has
ordered me to move. Yesterday I pawned
almost the last rag, for I had to buy my
Johnnie some wine. The poor little fellow is
convalescing so slowly. He already wants to
get out of bed and is getting restless and peev-
ish. If Ciepieszewski doesn't engage me and
pay me in advance, the landlord will throw me
out into the street," whispered Wolska to one
of her companions of the chorus.
''But are you sure Ciepieszewski is organiz-
ing a company?" asked her listener.
*'He is, tmdoubtedly. I am to see him in a
few days to sign a contract."
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The Comedienne 293
''So you're not going to stay with
Cabinski?"
"No, he doesn't want to pay the overdue
salary he owes me."
Thirty years were written plainly on Wol-
ska's wearied face on which worry had left its
deep marks. The thick layer of powder and
rouge could not coneal those wrinkles, nor the
tmrest that glowed in her eyes. She had a
six-year-old son who had been ill since the
spring. She defended him desperately, at the
expense of starving herself.
''Counselor! Welcome to our company!"
cried Glas, spying the old man, who for a few
weeks had not been seen in the theater.
The counselor entered and began greeting
everybody. The reading of the play was
interrupted, for all sprang up from their
seats.
"Good morning! Good morning! Am I
interrupting you?"
"No, no!" chorused the actors.
"Have a seat. Counselor. We shall listen
together," cried Cabinska.
"Ah, yoimg master! my regards to you!"
called the coimselor to Glogowski.
"An old idiot!" growled Glogowski, nod-
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294 The Comedienne
ding his head and hiding behind the scenes, for
he was akeady exasperated at those continual
interruptions and conversations.
' ' Silence ! For goodness' sake, this is getting
to be like a real synagogue ! " cried the irritated
' Topolski and began to read on.
But no one Ustened any longer. The
directress left with the counselor and, one by
one, the others quietly slipped out after her.
The rain began to pour heavily and beat so
noisy a tattoo upon the tin roof of the theater
that it drowned out all other sounds. It
became so dark, that Topolski could not see
to read.
The entire company removed to the men's
dressing-room. It was lighter and warmer
there, so they began to chat.
Janina stood together with Glogowski in the
doorway and was saying something in an
enthusiastic voice about the theater when
Rosinska interrupted her with derision:
''Goodness, you seem to be obsessed by the
theater! . . . Well, well, I would never have
believed such a thing possible had I not heard
it '*
*' Why, it's simple enough; the theater holds
everything that I desire."
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The ComMienne 295
"I, on the other hand, only begin to live
outside of the theater."
''Then why don't you abandon the stage?"
'*If I only could break away. I'd not
stay here another hour!" she answered with
bitterness.
' * That's merely talk ! Each one of us could
break away from the theater, if we only
would," said Wolska quietly. *'For me this
life is harder than for any of you and I know
that if I forsook the stage my lot would be
much better, but whenever I think that I shall
have to quit the stage some day, so great a
fear besets me that it seems as though I should
die without it."
''The theater is a slow poisoning, a dying
by inches each day!" complained Razowiec.
"Don't you whine, for your sickness comes
not from the theater, but from yotir stom-
ach," remarked Wawrzecki.
"That continual dying and poisoning is,
nevertheless, a kind of ecstasy! " began Janina
anew.
"Oh, a splendid ecstasy! If you want to
call hunger, continual envy, and the inability to
live otherwise, an ecstasy!" sneered Rosinska.
"Happy are they who have not fallen a prey
^
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296 The Comedienne
to that disease, or escaped it in time," added
Razowiec.
*'But isn't it better to live and suffer and
die in that way, as long as you have art as
your goal. A thousand times would I prefer
to live that way than to be my husband's ser-
vant, the slave of my children, and a house-
hold chattel!" exclaimed Janina with a
passionate outburst.
Wladek began to declaim with a comical
pathos:
'*0h priestess, most elect!
To thee, in this temple of art,
High altars I'll erect!
' * Please forgive me that , ' ' continued Wladek.
*'I myself say that outside of art there is
nothing! If it were not for the theater ..."
. "You would have become a cobbler!"
interposed Glas.
''Only a very young and a very naive
woman can talk like that," spitefully ex-
claimed Kaczkowska.
'*0r one who does not yet know what
Cabinski's salary tastes like," added Rosinska.
*'0h, thou art worthy of pity! You have
enthusiasm . . . poverty will rob you of it;
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The Comedienne 297
you have inspiration . . . poverty will rob
you of it; you have youth, talent, and beauty
. . . poverty will rob you of it all ! " declaimed
Piesh in the stern tones of an oracle.
''No, all that is nothing! . . . But such a
company, such artists, such plays as these
will ruin everything. And if you are able to
endtire such a hell then you will become a great
artist!" whispered Stanislawski sotirly.
"A master has proclaimed it, so bow your
heads, oh multitude, and say that it must be
so!" jeered Wawrzecki.
*'Fool! . . . " snarled Stanislawski.
''Mimmiy!" retorted Wawrzecki.
"I'll tell you how I began my career," said
Wladek. *' I was in the fourth grade at school
when I saw Rossi in Hamlet and from that
moment the theater claimed me entirely! I
pilfered cash from my father to buy tragedies
and attended the theater. I spent whole days
and nights in learning r61es, and dreamed that
I would conquer the whole world ..."
*'And you're nothing but a tyro in Cabin-
ski's company," jeered Dobek.
''I learned that Richter had come to War-
saw and intended to open a school of dramatic
art," continued Wladek. "I went to see him,
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298 The Comedienne
for I felt that I had talent and wished to learn.
He lived on St. John's Street. I came to his
house and rang the bell. He opened the door
himself, let me in and then locked it. I began
to perspire with fear and didn't know how to
begin. I stood first on one foot and then on
the other. He was calmly washing a saucepan.
Then, he poured some oil into an oil-stove,
took off his coat, put on a house-jacket and
began to peel potatoes.
' ' After a long silence, seeing that I would not
get him to respond in that way, I began to
stammer something about my calling, my love
of art, my desire to learn and so forth. . . .
He continued to peel his potatoes. Finally,
I asked him to give me lessons. He glanced
at me and gnmibled: 'How old are you, my
boy?' I stood there dumbfoimded like a
mummy and he continued to question: 'Did
you come with your mother?' Tears began
to fill my eyes, while he spoke again: 'Your
father will give you a walloping, and they'll
expel you from school.' I felt so distressed
and humiliated that I could not utter a word
'Recite some verse for me, yoimg man,' he
said quietly, all the while systematically peel-
ing his potatoes."
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The Comedienne ^99
"So your inclination to roar on the stage
harks away back to those days, eh?" jeered
Glas.
"Glas, don't interrupt me. . . . Ha!
thought I, I'll have to show him! And
although I was all trembling with emotion I
assumed a tragic pose and began to recite. . . .
I writhed, shouted, btirst out in a fit of passion
like Othello, seethed with hatred, like a samo-
var and finally finished, all covered with per-
spiration. 'Some more,' said Richter, con-
tinually peeling the potatoes, while not a
single muscle of his face betrayed what he
thought of it all. I thought that everything
was going fine, so I selected 'Hagar.' I
despaired like Niobe, cursed like Lear, pleaded,
threatened, and ended up, all exhausted and
breathless. He said: 'Still more!' He
stopped peeling the potatoes and began to
chop meat. Enraptured by the tone of
encouragement I selected from Slowacki's
Mazeppa that prison-scene from the fourth
act and recited the whole of it. I put into
it so much feeling and force that I became
hoarse; my hair stood on end, I trembled,
forgot my stirrotmdings, inspiration carried
me away, fire blazed from me as from a stove.
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300 The Comedienne
my voice melted in tears. Tragedy swept me
off my feet, the room began to dance about
me, a colored mist swam before my eyes, my
breath was beginning to fail, I began to grow
weak and to choke with emotion, and I seemed
about to faint . . . when he sneezed and be-
gan to wipe tears from his eyes with his coat-
sleeve. I stopped reciting. He laid down
the onion that he was slicing, put a pitcher
into my hand and calmly said to me: *Go
and bring me some water.' I brought it. He
spilled the potatoes into it, stood them on the
oil-stove and lit the wick. I timidly asked
him whether I could come to take lessons from
him. 'Yes, come,' he answered, 'you can
sweep the floor and carry water for me. Do
you know how to speak Chines^?' 'No,' I
answered, not knowing what he was driving
at. 'Well, then learn it and come back to me
and we shall then speak about the theater!'
. . . I shall never forget that moment as long
as I live."
"Don't get mawkish over it, for Glogowski
won't treat you to any more beer anjn^^ay,"
remarked Glas.
"Say what you will, but it is art alone that
makes life worth something, ' ' persisted Wladek.
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The Comedienne 301
"And didn't you see Richter again?" asked
Janina curiously.
"How could he ... he hasn't learned
Chinese yet," interposed Glas.
"No, I didn't go to see him; and moreover,
when they expelled me from school I immedi-
ately ran away from home and joined ICrzy-
zanowski's company," answered Wladek.
"You were with Krzyzanowski?" asked
someone.
"For a whole year I walked with him, his
wife, his son, the immortal Leo and one other
actress. I say that I 'walked' because in
those days we seldom used other means of
locomotion. Very often there was nothing to
eat, but I could act and declaim as much as I
liked. I had an enormous repertoire. With a
cast of four persons we presented Shakespeare
and Schiller, most wonderfully made over for
our own use by Krzyzanowski, who besides
that had a great many plays of his own with
double or quadruple titles."
While the rain continued interminably,
they drew together in a still closer circle and
chatted. Suddenly their conversation was
interrupted by loud cries from the stage.
"Qtiiet! what is that?" asked everybody.
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302 The Comedienne
''Aha! Majkowska versus Topolski in a
scene of free love."
Janina went out to see what was happening.
On the aknost totally dark stage the heroic
pair were engaged in a quarrel.
''Where were you?" cried Majkowska,
springing at Topolski with clenched fists.
"Let me alone, Mela."
"Where were you all last night?"
" I tell you, please go away . . . . If you are
ill, go home."
"You were playing cards again, weren't you?
And I haven't even enough money for a dress ! I
couldn't even buy myself a supper last night ! "
" Why didn't you want the money when you
could have had it?"
"Oh, yes, you'd want me to have money so
that you could gamble it away. You would
even help me to get the money for that pur-
pose . . . you base scoimdrel!"
She sprang at him with nervous fury. Her
beautiful, statuesque face glowed with rage.
She grasped his arm, pinched him and shook
him, without herself knowing what she was
doing.
Topolski, losing his patience, struck her vio-
lently away from him.
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The Comedienne 303
Majkowska with almost a roar — so little did
her voice seem to have in it anything human —
and with spasmodic laughter, and crying, and
tragic wringing of hands, fell on her knees
before him.
"Maurice, my sotil's beloved, forgive me!
. . . Light of my life! Ha! ha! ha! you
damned scoimdrel, you! ... My dearest,
my dearest, forgive me! ..."
She groveled to his feet, grasped his hands
and began rapturously to kiss them.
Topolski stood there gloomily. He felt
ashamed of his own anger, so he merely chewed
his cigarette and whispered quietly: ''Come,
get up from the floor and stop playing that
comedy. . . . Have you no shame! ... In
a minute you will have everybody in here
looking at you."
Majkowska's mother, an old woman,
resembling a witch, came nmning up to her
and tried to raise her from the floor.
''Mela, my daughter!" she cried.
"Mother, take that crazy woman away
from here; she is continually creating scan-
dals," said Topolski and went out into the
hall.
"My dear daughter! Do you see! I told
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304 The Comedienne
you and begged you not to go with such a poor
fool! . . . See what your love has brought
you to, my Mela! Come, get up, my child!"
''Go to the devil, mother!" cried Majkow-
ska, pushing away her mother.
Then she sprang up from the floor and began
to pace rapidly up and down the stage. In
this violent motion she must have spent the
rest of her anger, for she began to himi and
smile to herself and afterwards called to Ja-
nina in the most natural voice: *' Perhaps you
will take a walk with me? ..."
''Very well, it has even stopped rain-
ing ..." answered the yotmger woman,
glancing at her face.
"I have a fine lover, haven't I? . . . Did
you see what was going on? "
"I saw and cannot yet calm my indig-
nation."
"Oh, nonsense!"
"How can you stand such a thing?"
"I love him too much to pay attention to
such trifles."
Janina began to laugh nervously, and said:
"Such things are to be seen only in the
operetta . . . well, and behind the scenes."
" Bah, I will avenge myself for it ! "
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The Comedienne 305
''You will avenge yourself? Fm very cu-
rious to know how. ..."
''I will marry him ... I will make him
marry me!"
" So that will be your vengeance? " inqtiired
Janina in amazement.
''There couldn't be a better one. Oh, FU
make his life warm for him! . . . Come, I
have to buy some chocolate."
"You didn't have money for supper? " cried
Janina involimtarily.
"Ha! ha! ha! How naive you still are!
You saw the gentlemen who sends me bou-
quets and yet, you think that I have no
money! Where were you brought up? "
Suddenly, she changed the tone of her voice
and asked Janina inquisitively : "Tell me, have
you also someone? ..."
"I have art!" answered Janina gravely, not
even offended by her question.
"You are either very ambitious or very
wise ... I did not know you before. ..."
said Majkowska and began to listen more
attentively.
"Ambitious . . . perhaps, for I have only
one object in belonging to the theater and that
is art."
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3o6 The Comedienne
"Come, don't try to play a farce with me!
Ha! ha! Art, as an aim of life! That is a
theme for a fine couplet, but it is an old
trick."
"That depends on the person in question."
Majkowska became silent and began gloom-
ily to ponder.
"It was hard to catch up with you!" called
someone behind them.
"Oh, what brings you here, Cotmselor?
So you are off duty?" spitefully whispered
Majkowska, for she knew that the counselor
always attended Cabinska.
"I want to change my mistress. ... I am
seeking a new position."
"In my service the duties are very
exacting."
"Oh, in that case, thank you! I am
already too old ... I know someone who
would be more considerate for my age." And
he bowed to Janina with studied courtesy.
"Will you come with us, Coimselor?" asked
Majkowska.
"Certainly, but you must permit me to lead
the way, ladies."
"Very well, we'll agree to whatever you
suggest."
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The Comedienne 307
"I propose that we have breakfast at
'VersaiUes/"
"I must return to the theater," s^id Janina.
''They've not yet finished reading the play."
"They'll finish it without you. Come, let
us go," urged Majkowska.
They walked slowly, for the rain had
stopped entirely and the July sun was dr3ring
the mud in the streets. The counselor wig-
gled about, gazed into Janina's eyes and smiled
significantly; he bowed to acquaintances he
met on the way and before the yoimger ones
he assumed the pose of a conquerer.
The ''Versailles Restaurant" was empty.
They seated themselves near the balcony and
the coimselor ordered a very choice breakfast.
It was after three o'clock when they
returned to the theater. The rehearsal of the
day's performance was in full swing. Cabin-
ski was about to grumble at them for coming
late, but Majkowska gave him such a crushing '
look that he merely frowned and walked away.
Her mother approached her with a letter.
Majkowska read it, immediately scribbled a
few words in reply and handed them to the old
woman.
" Deliver this right away, mother," she said.
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3o8 The Comedienne
"Mela, but suppose I don't find him in?"
asked her mother.
"Then wait, but do not give it to anyone
else but him! Here's something for your
trouble, mother ..." and tapping her
throat with her fingers after the custom of
drinkers she gave her a forty — copeck piece.
The greenish eyes of the old woman gleamed
with gratitude and she hurried away with the
message.
Janina looked for Glogowski, but he had
already left, so she went out into the hall to
the coimselor who had returned with them, for
she remembered that he had promised to tell
her what he had read in her palm.
"Mr. Coimselor, you owe me something,"
she began, sitting down beside him.
"I? . . .1? . . . Upon my word I don't
remember that I owe you anything."
"You promised to tell me what you had
read in my palm not so long ago."
"Yes, but not here. Come, we had better
go to the dressing-room so that it won't
attract anyone's attention."
They went to the dressing-room of the
chorus.
The cotmselor spent quite a while examin-
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The Comedienne 309
ing both her hands very minutely and finally
said with some embarrassment: *'Upon my
word, this is the first time that I see such
strange hands!"
"Oh, please tell me everything!"
"I can't. . . . And I don't know whether
it's true."
'* It makes no difference whether it is true or
not, you must tell me by all means, my dear
Cotmselor!" coaxed Janina.
'*A mental disorder of some kind, it seems.
... Of course I don't know and I don't
believe it. I tell you only what I see. but . . .
but ..."
**And what of the theater?" Janina asked.
*'You will be famous . . . you will be very
famous!" he whispered hurriedly without
looking at her.
'*That isn't true; you didn't see that
there!" she exclaimed, reading the falsehood
in his eyes.
*'My word! my word of honor all that is
written there! You will achieve fame, but
through so much suffering, through so many
tears. . . . Beware of dreaming!"
And he kissed her hand.
The noisy buzz of voices merged with tones
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310 The Comedienne
of music broke the stillness in which both of
them had become rapt.
For a little while Janina sat alone, after her
companion withdrew, torn by dim forebodings.
' ' You are going to be very famous ! Beware
of dreaming!" she kept repeating to herself.
That evening the coimselor sent to Janina
a bouquet, a box of candy, and a letter inviting
her to supper at the "Idyl," mentioning that
Topolski and Majkowska were also to be there.
She read it and, not knowing what to do,
asked Sowinska.
''Sell the bouquet, eat the candy, and go to
the supper."
''So that is your advice? ..." asked
Janina.
Sowinska scornfully shrugged her shoulders.
Janina angrily threw the bouquet in a
comer, distributed the candy among the
chorus girls, ^nd after the performance went
straight home, highly indignant at the coim-
selor whom she had looked upon as a very
serious and honest man.
On the next day at the rehearsal Majkow-
ska remarked taimtingly to Janina: "You
are an immaculate romanticist."
' ' No, only I respect myself, ' ' answered Janina.
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The Comedienne 311
*'Get thee to a nimnery!" declaimed Maj-
kowska.
In the afternoon Janina went as usual to
Cabinska's home to give Yadzia her piano
lesson, but she could not forget that scorn-
ful shrug of Sowinska's shoulders and Maj-
kowska's words.
She finished the lesson and then sat for a
long time playing Chopin's NocturneSj finding
in their melancholy strains a balm for her own
sorrows.
''Miss Janina . . . My husband has left
a r61e here for you! " called Cabinska from the
other room.
Janina closed the piano and began to peruse
the r61e. It consisted of a few words from
Glogowski's new play and did not satisfy her
in the least, for it was nothing but a short
little episode. Nevertheless, this was to be her
first real appearance in the drama.
The play had been postponed tmtil the
following Thursday and rehearsals of it were
to be held every aftemooon, for Glogowski
had earnestly requested that and generously
treated the entire cast each day to get them to
learn their r61es well.
A few days after receiving her first r61e
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312 The Comedienne
Janina's first month at Sowinska's expired.
The old woman reminded her of it in the morn-
ing, asking for the money as soon as possible.
Janina gave her ten rubles, solemnly promis-
ing to pay the balance in a few clays. She
had only a few rubles left of her entire capital.
She thought in astonishment how she had
spent the two himdred rubles which she had
brought with her from Bukowiec.
''What am I going to do?" Janina asked
herself, determining as soon as possible to ask
Cabinski for her overdue salary.
She did so at the very next rehearsal.
''I haven't the money!" cried Cabinski at
once. ''Moreover, I never pay beginners in
my company for the first month. It's strange
that no one informed you about that. Others
are already here a whole season and they don't
bother me about their salaries."
Janina listened in consternation and finally
said frankly: "Mr. Director, in a week's time
I will not have a penny left to live on."
"And that old . . . counselor . . . can't
he give it to you? . . . Surely, everyone
knows that ..."
"Oh, Mr. Director!" whispered Janina,
blushing deeply.
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The Comedienne 313
"A pretty deceiver!" he muttered with a
cynical twist of his lips.
Janina forcibly suppressed her indignation
and said: '* In the meantime I need ten rubles,
for I must buy myself a costume for the new
play."
''Ten rubles! Ha! ha! ha! That's great!
Even Majkowska does not ask for so much
at one time! Ten rubles! what delightful
simplicity!" Cabinski laughed heartily and
then, turning to go, he said: ''Remind me of it
this evening and I will give you an order to the
treasurer."
That evening Janina received one ruble.
Janina knew that the chorus girls even after
the most profitable performance received only
fifty copecks on accoimt and usually only two
gold pieces or forty groszy. Only now, did
she recall those sad and worn faces of the
elder actresses. There were revealed to her
now many things that she had never seen
before, or seeing them, had never tmderstood.
Her own want opened wide her eyes to the
poverty that oppressed everyone in the theater
and those hidden daily struggles with it that
they often disguised imder a glittering veil of
gayety.
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314 The Comedienne
That daily standing before the treasiirer's
window and fairly begging for money, which
she was now compelled to do, cast a shadow
over Janina's soul and filled her with bitter-
ness. It made her all the more eager to get
a larger r61e so that she might get out of that
hated chorus, but Cabinski steadily put her off.
Kotlicki hovered about Janina incessantly,
but did not renew his proposal and seemed to
be waiting his chance.
Wladek was the most companionable of all
in regard to Janina and told everyone that she
visited his mother. Niedzielska continually
spied on Wladek, for she already suspected
him of liking Janina.
The girl received Wladek's attentions with
the same indifference that she received Kot-
licki's, with the same indifference that she
received the bouquets and candy which the
coimselor sent her every day. None of these
three silent admirers interested her in the
least and she kept them at a respectable
distance from herself by her coolness.
The other actresses ridiculed Janina's
inflexibility, but in their hearts they sincerely
envied her. She ignored their spiteful
remarks, for she knew that to answer them
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The Comedienne 315
would be merely to invite a greater avalanche '
of ridicule.
Janina liked only Glogowski, who because
of the coming presentation of his play would
spend whole days at the theater. He openly
singled her out as an object of his special
regard from among all the women, spoke
only with her on weighty subjects and
treated her alone as a human being. She
felt highly flattered and grateful. She liked
him especially because he never mentioned
love to her, nor boasted. Often they would
go together for walks in Lazienki Park. Janina
associated with him on a footing of sincere
friendship.
After the final rehearsal of The Churls^ Glo-
gowski and Janina left the theater together. He
seemed to be more gloomy than usual. He was
racked with anxiety over his play that was to
be given that evening, yet he laughed aloud.
''Suppose we take a ride to the Botanical
Gardens. Do you agree?" he suggested.
Janina assented and they started off.
They found an unoccupied seat near one of
the pools, tmder a huge plane tree and for a
time sat there in silence.
The garden was fairly empty. A few per-
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3i6 The Comedienne
sons seated here and there upon the benches
appeared like shadows in the sultry air. The
last roses of summer gleamed with their bright
hues through the foliage of the low-hanging
branches; the stocks in the central flower-bed
diffused a heavy fragrance. The birds twit-
tered only at rare intervals with somnolent
voices. The trees stood motionless as though
listening to the stmlit tranquility of that
August day. Only now and then some leaf
or withered twig would float down in a spiral
line upon the lawns. The golden splashes of
stmlight filtering through the branches formed
a shifting mosaic upon the grass and gleamed
like strips of pale platinum.
"Let the devil take it all!" Glogowski
occasionally flung out into the silence and dis-
tractedly rumpled his hair.
Janina merely glanced at him, loath to mar
with words the silence that enveloped her —
that calm of nature lulled to sleep by the exces-
sive warmth. She also was lulled by sohie
unknown tenderness that had no connection
with any particular thing, but seemed to float
down out of space, from the blue sky, from
the transparent whiteness of the slowly sailing
clouds from the deep verdure of the trees.
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The Comedienne 317
"For goodness' sake, say something, or Til
go crazy, or get hydrophobia! . . .''he sud-
denly exclaimed.
Janina btirst out laughing, "Well, let us
talk about this evening, if about nothing else,"
ventured the girl.
" Do you want to drive me crazy altogether?
May the deuce take me, but I fear I won't
endure till this evening!"
"But haven't you told me that this is not
your first play, so ..."
"Yes, but at the presentation of each new
one the ague always shakes me, for always at
the last moment I see that I have written
rubbish, tommyrot, cheap trash ..."
"I don't pretend to be a judge, but I liked
the play immensely. It is so frank."
' ' What ? Do you mean that seriously ? " he
cried.
"Of course."
"For you see, I told myself that if this play
fails, I shall ..."
"Will you give up writing?"
"No, but I shall vanish from the horizon for
a few months and write another one. I will
write a second, a third ... I will write until
I produce a perfectly good one ! I must ! ' '
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3i8 The Comedienne
"Tell me, do you think Majkowska will
make a good Antka in my play? " he suddenly
asked.
*' It seems to me that that r61e is well-suited
to her."
''Maurice also will play his part well, but
the rest of them are a miserable lot and the
staging terrible. It's botmd to turn out a
fiasco!"
''Mimi knows nothing about the peasants
and her imitation of their dialect is ludicrous,"
remarked Janina.
"I heard her and it pained me to listen!
Do you know the peasants? Ah, Great
Scott ! " he cried impulsively. ' ' Why don't you
act that r61e? ..."
''Because they didn't give it to me."
"Why didn't you tell me about that sooner?
May the deuce take me, but even if I had to
smash up the whole theater I would have
forced them to give you that r61e!"
"The director gave me the part of Phillip's
wife."
"That's merely a super, an episode ... it
cotild have been given to anyone. I feel that
Mimi is going to chatter like a soubrette from
an operetta. See what you have caused me!
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The Comedienne 319
By glory, what a mess! If you think that
life is a charming operetta, you are greatly
mistaken!"
'* I already happen to know something about
that ..." answered Janina with a bitter
smile.
''So far you don't know anything . . . you
will learn it only later on. But after all
women usually have an easier time of it. We
men have to fight hard to grasp our share and
have to pay dearly. God knows how dearly."
''Don't you think the women pay any-
thing?"
"It's this way: women, and particularly
those on the stage, owe the minimtun part of
their success to their talents or themselves;
the maximum part to their lovers who support
them and the rest to the gallantry of those men
who hope to be able to support them some
day."
Janina answered nothing, for there flashed
before her mind a picture of Majkowska with
Topolski in back of her, Mimi with Wawr-
zecki, Kaczkowska with one of the journalists
and so on through almost all of them.
"Don't be angry with me. I merely stated
a fact that came to my mind."
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320 The Comedienne
*'No. I'm not angry. I admit you're
entirely right."
"With you, it will not be that way, I feel it.
Come, let us go now!" he suddenly cried,
jumping up from the bench.
'*I will say something more ..." said
Glogowski when they were already walking
down the shaded paths on their way back, ''I
will repeat what I said on the day that I first
met you at Bielany; let us be friends! . . . It's
no use trying to deny it, man is a gregarious
beast: he always needs someone near him so
that his lot on this earth may be half-way bear-
able . . . Man does not stand alone; he must
lean against and link up with others, go toge-
ther with them and feel together with them to
be able to accomplish anything. To be sure,
one kindred soul suffices. Let us be friends! "
"All right," said Janina, "but I will lay
down one condition."
' ' Quick, for God's sake ! For perhaps I will
not accept it!"
" It is this: give me your word of honor that
you will never, never speak to me about love,
and that you will not fall in love with me.
You can even confide in me, if you wish, all
your love affairs and disappointments."
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The Comedienne 321
' ' Agreed, all along the line ! I seal that with
my solemn word of honor!" cried Glogowski.
They gravely pressed each others' hands.
''This is a tmion of pure souls with ideal
aims V he laughed, winking his eyes. * * Some-
thing makes me feel so merry now that I could
take my own head in my hands and kiss it
heartily."
'* It is a premonition of the triumph of your
Churls.*'
''Don't remind me of that. I know what
awaits me. But I must now bid farewell
to you."
"Aren't you going to escort me home?"
"No . . . Oh well, all right, but I warn
you I will talk to you about . . . love!" he
cried gayly.
"Well, in that case, good-by! May God
preserve you from such falsehoods."
"Your ears must have surfeited on that
rubbish, if the very mention of it nauseates
you. ..."
"Go now if you wish ... I will tell you
about it some other time. ..."
Glogowski leaped into a hack and drove
away in haste toward Comely Street and
Janina went home.
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322 The Comedienne
She tried on the peasant costtime which
Mme. Anna was making for her appearance
and thought with a smile of the alUance that
she had formed with Glogowski.
At the theater it was evident that a premiere
was to be given. All the members of the
company appeared earlier, dressed and made
up more carefully than usual and only Krzy-
kiewicz, as was his custom, paraded about the
dressing-room and the stage half -dressed with
his rouge pot in his hand.
Stanislawski, who when he played, usually
came about two hours before the performance,
was already dressed and only now and then
added an extra touch to his make-up.
Wawrzecki, with his r61e in his hand paced
up and down the dressing-room rehearsing in
an tmdertone.
The stage-director ran about more swiftly
than usual and in the ladies' dressing-room
livelier quarrels were going on. Everyone
was* more nervous to-day. The prompter
supervised the stage arrangements and
watched the public that was beginning to fill
the hall. The chorus girls, who were to act as
supers, were already dressed in their peasant
costumes and straggled all about the stage.
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The Comedienne 323
''Dobek!" called Majkowska. "My dear
fellow, only support me well! . . . I know my
part, but in the second act slip me the words /
of that monologue a little louder." /
Dobek nodded his head and had not yet '•
returned to his post when Glas accosted him.
' ' Dobek ! Will you have a drink of whisky, .
eh? Perhaps you'd like a sandwich? " he asked
the prompter in a solicitous tone. j
''To the sandwich add a beer," answered I
Dobek, smiling blissfully.
''My good fellow, don't fail me! I really
know my part to-day, but I'm likely to get
stuck here and there ..."
"Well, well! only don't lie down yourself
and you can be sure I won't let you perish."
And in this way, every other minute some
actor or actress would approach Dobek, who
solemnly promised to "uphold" them all.
"Dobek! I need only the first words of
each line . . . remember!" reminded Topol-
ski at the very last.
Glogowski strayed about the stage, himself
set up the interior of the peasants' hut, gave
instructions to the actors and uneasily scanned
the first row of seats occupied by the represen-
tatives of the press.
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3H The Comedienne
'*It will be warm for me to-morrow!" he
whispered to himself, and began to walk
about feverishly, for he was unable to stand or
sit still in one spot. Finally, he went out into
the garden-hall, stood leaning against a chest-
nut tree and watched with beating heart the
first act of his play which had just begun.
The audience sat coldly and quietly listening.
An oppressive silence filled the hall. Glogow-
ski saw hundreds of eyes and immovable
heads, he even saw the restaurant waiters
standing on chairs beneath the veranda,
watching the stage. The voices of the actors
resounded distinctly, floating out to that
dark, densely packed mass of people.
Glogowski sat down in the darkest comer
behind the scenes on a heap of decorations,
covered his face with his hands and listened.
Scene followed scene, and still that same
ominous silence reigned. Glogowski was
tmable to sit there quietly! He heard the
baritone voice of Topolski, . the soprano of
Majkowska and the somewhat hoarse voice of
Glas, but it was not that which he wished to
hear. Not that! He bit his fingers so vio-
lently that tears came to his eyes from the
pain.
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The Comedienne 325
The first act ended.
A few Itikewarm handclaps broke out here
and there and died away again in the general
silence.
Glogowski sprang up and with craning neck
and feverishly gleaming eyes waited, but he
heard only the thump of the falling curtain and
the buzz of voices suddenly rising in the hall.
During the intermission he again observed
the public. Their faces wore a strange expres-
sion. The members of the press frowned, and
whispered something among themselves, while
certain of them made notes.
''I feel cold!'' whispered Glogowski to him-
self, shaking as though with an icy chill.
And he began to stray distractedly all about
the theater.
''I congratulate you!" said Kotlicki, press-
ing Glogowski's hand. ' * The play is too severe
and brutal, but it is something new!"
''Which means neither fish nor flesh!"
answered Glogowski with a forced smile.
"We'll see how it will be further on. . . .
The public is surprised to' see a folk play with-
out dances. ..."
''What the devil do they want! It is not
a ballet!" muttered Glogowski impatiently.
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326 The Comedienne
'*But you know they dote on songs and
dances."
''Then let them go to a vaudeville show!"
retorted Glogowski. And he walked away.
After the second act the applause was louder
and more prolonged.
In the dressing-rooms the humor of the
actors began to rise to its usual level.
Cabinski had already twice sent Wicek to
the box office to find out how things were
going there. Gold's first reply was: ''Good,"
and his second: "Sold out."
Glogowski continued to torment himself,
but now in a different way, for having heard
the applause for which he had so feverishly
waited, he had calmed himself a bit and sat
behind the scenes watching the play. Now he
became pale with anger, kicked his hat with
his foot and hissed with impatience, for he
could no longer endure what he saw. Out of
his peasant characters, which were in every
inch true to life, they were making banal
figures of the sentimental melodrama, puppets
dressed in folk costumes. The playing of
the men actors was at least to some extent
bearable, but the women, with the exception
of Majkowska and Mirowska, who acted the
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The Comedienne 327
part of an old beggar woman, played abomin-
ably. Instead of speaking their parts, they
rattled them off in a singsong voice, and over-
emphasized hatred, love, and laughter. Every-
thing was done so mechanically, artifically,
and thoughtlessly, without a grain of truth or
sincerity that Glogowski fairly choked with
despair. It was merely a masquerade.
"Sharper! More energetically!'' he whis-
pered, stamping his foot, but no one paid any
attention to his exhortations.
Suddenly, a smile flitted over his lips, for
he saw Janina entering the stage. She caught
that smile and that saved her, for her voice had
died in her breast. She was trembling from
stage fright so that she did not see the stage,
nor the actors, nor the public ; it seemed to her
that she was engulfed in a sea of light. When
she saw that friendly smile she immediately
recovered her calm and courage.
Janina was merely to grasp a broom, take
her drunken husband by the collar, shout a
few lines of imprecation and complaint and
then drag him out forcibly through the door.
She did all this a trifle too violently, but with
such realism that she gave the impression of
an infuriated peasant woman.
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328 The Comedienne
Glogowski went to Janina. She stood on
the stairs leading to the dressing-room; her
eyes beamed with a certain deep satisfaction.
''Very good! . . . that was a real peasant
woman. You have a temperament and a voice
and those are two first-rate endowments!"
said Glogowski, and tip-toed back to his seat.
''Perhaps we ought to give an encore of that
scene?" whispered Cabinski into his ear.
"Dry up and go to the devil!" answered
Glogowski in the same quiet whisper and felt
a great desire to strike Cabinski. But just
then, a new thought occurred to his mind, for
he saw the nurse standing nearby.
"Nurse!" he called to her.
The nurse unwillingly approached Glogow-
ski.
"Tell me, nurse, what do you think of that
comedy?" he asked her curiously.
"The title is very impolitic . . .'churls'!
Everyone knows that peasants are not nobles,
but to call them by such a scornful name for
the amusement of others is a downright sin!"
"Well, that is of minor importance . . •
but do you think those characters resemble
real peasants?"
"Yes, you have hit upon the real thing
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The Comedienne 329
Peasants are just like that, only they don't
dress so elegantly, nor are they so refined in
their bearing and speech. But pardon me,
sir, if I say one thing; what's the use of it all?
Present, if you wish, nobles, Jews, or any other
kind of ragamuffins, but to make a laughing-
stock and a comedy of honest tillers of the soil
is a downright shame! God is like to punish
you for such frivolity! A husbandman is a
husbandman . . . beware of trifling with
him!" she added in conclusion and continued
to gaze at the stage with an ever greater
severity and almost with tears of indignation
in her eyes.
Glogowski had no time to wonder at her
attitude for just then the third act ended amid
thunderous applause and calls for the author,
but he did not go out to bow.
A few journalists came to shake hands with
him and praise his play. He listened to them
indifferently, for already his mind was occu-
pied with a plan for remaking that play. Now
first did he see in detail its various incon-
sistencies and the things that were lacking,
and immediately completed them in his mind,
added new scenes, changed about situations
and was so absorbed with his task that he no
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330 The Comedienne
longer paid any attention to how they were
playing the foiirth act.
Again applause filled the entire hall and the
tinanimous cry of : ' ' Author ! Author ! ' '
''They're calling for you, go out to them,"
someone whispered into Glogowski's ear.
''The deuce I will! Go to the devil, sweet
brother!"
Majkowska and Topolski were also being
recalled.
Majkowska, all breathless, ran up to
Glogowski.
''Mr. Glogowski! come, hurry!" she cried,
taking him by the hand.
"Let me alone!" he growled threateningly.
Majkowska left him and Glogowski sat
there and continued to think. Neither the
applause, nor the demands for his appearance
nor the success of his play interested him any
longer, for he was sorely worried by the knowl-
edge that his play was entirely bad. He saw
its defects ever more plainly and the knowl-
edge that another one of his efforts had proved
vain made him writhe with pain. With
helpless rage he listened to the public applaud-
ing the rude and characteristically comic
episodes which were merely the backgroimd
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The Comedienne 331
upon which the souls of his Churls had to
be outlined, while the theme and thesis of
the play itself passed without making any
impression.
" Mr. Glogowski I want you to go out after
the fifth act if they call for you," Janina
said to him decisively.
''But please consider, who is calling for me!
Don't you see that it is the gallery? Don't
you see the smiles of derision upon the faces
of the press and the public in the first rows of
seats? I tell you the play is bad, abominable
and rotten! Wait and see what they will
write about it to-morrow."
''What will happen to-morrow we shall see
to-morrow. To-day there is success and your
splendid play."
"Splendid!" he cried painfully. "If you
could see the plan of it that I have here in my
head, if you could see how splendid and com-
plete it is here, you would know that what
they are playing is merely a poor rag and a
fragment." _
Immediately afterwards Cabinski, Topolsld,
and Kotlicki approached Glogowski and urged
him to appear before the public, but still he
resisted. Only at the end of the play when
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332 The Comedienne
the entire audience was wildly applauding and
calling for the author, Glogowski went out on
the stage with Majkowska, bowed osten-
tatiously, smoothed his shock of hair and
clumsily retreated behind the scenes.
''If the play had dances, songs, and music,
I wager it would run to the end of the season,"
said Cabinski.
" Dry up, or drink yourself to death, but do
not tell me such nonsense," shouted Glogow-
ski. "The next thing you know, the restau-
rant-keeper will come nmning in here and
begin to berate me because for the same
reasons he sold less beer and whiskey; a public
that must listen and laughs seldom prefers
hot tea."
"But my dear sir, nobody writes plays for
himself, he writes them for other human
beings."
"Yes, for human beings, but not for Zulus,"
retorted Glogowski.
Kotlicki again approached Glogowski and
spoke to him for a long while. Glogowski
frowned and said: "First of all, I haven't
the money for it, for it would cost a
great deal and, in the second place, I am not
at all anxious to be 'one of our well-known
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The Comedienne 333
and celebrated,' for that is a prostitution of
one's talent!"
''I can be of service to you with my funds,
if you wish. ... I presume that our old ties
of companionship at school ..."
"Let us drop that! ..." Glogowsld vio-
fently interrupted him. "But that has given
me a certain idea . . . Suppose we arrange a
little supper, but only for a few persons, eh?"
"Good! we will draw up a list right away;
Mr. and Mrs. Cabinsld, Majkowska and
Topolski, Mimi and Wawrzecki and Glas, as
an entertainer, of course. Whom else shall
we include?"
Kotlicki wished to suggest Janina, but was
restrained from saying so openly.
"Aha! I know . . . Miss Orlowska . . .
the Filipka of my play! Did you see how
superbly she acted the part?"
"Indeed, she played it well ..." answered
Kotlicki, glancing suspiciously at Glogowski,
for he thought that he also had designs upon
Janina.
"Go and invite them. I will come right
away."
Kotlicki went out into the restaurant garden,
while Glogowski hurried upstairs to the chorus
V
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334 The Comedienne
dressing-room and called through the door:
''MissOrlowska!"
Janina peered out.
"Please hurry and get dressed for the whole
crowd of us is going out for supper and you
can't refuse."
About a half hour later they were all sitting'
in a room of one of the large restaurants on
Nowy Swiat.
The whiskey and Itmch were attacked ener-
getically for the nervous strain of the last few
hours had sharpened everybody's appetite.
They spoke little, but drank a great deal.
Janina did not wish to drink, but Glogowski
begged her and cried out: **You must drink
and that settles it. You must drink, if only to
celebrate such an honorable burial as we have
held to-day."
She drank one glass on trial, but afterwards
was forced to drink others; moreover, she felt
that it helped her, for she had not yet rid her-
self of stage nervousness and was trembling
about the fate of the play.
After various courses had been served, the
waiters placed on the table a whole battery of
bottles full of wines and liqueurs.
"Now we'll have something to fight with!"
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The Comedienne 335
cried Glas jovially, tinkling a bottle with his
knife.
' ' You will fall a victim to your own tritimph,
if you continue to attack with the same
fervor," laughed Wawrzecki.
''You people can talk, while we drink!*'
called Kotlicki, raising his glass. ''Here's to
the health of our author!" __ ^
"May you choke, you Zulu!" growled \
Glogowski, rising and touching glasses with
everybody. "^
" May he live long and write a new master-
piece each year! " cried Cabinski, already quite
tipsy.
"You, Director, also create masterpieces
almost every year, yet no one upbraids you
for it," jested Glas.
"With the help of God and man, gentlemen,
yes, yes!" answered Cabinski.
Mimi burst out laughing and all joined her.
"Come let me hug you! For once you do
not lie!" cried Glas.
Pepa almost died laughing.
"Here's to the health of Mr. and Mrs.
Director!" called Wawrzecki.
"May they live long and with the help of
God and man create more masterpieces!"
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336 The Comedienne
"Here's to the health of the whole com-
pany!"
"And now let us drink to the public."
"Permit me to interrupt you a moment.
Since I alone here represent the public, there-
fore render homage to me. Approach me
with respect and drink to me. You may even
kiss me and ask me for some favor. I will
consider your request and bestow whatever I
am able to!" cried Kotlicki gleefully.
He took a glass from the table, stood before
a mirror and waited.
"Can you beat that for conceit! I will be
the first to tuidergo the ordeal!" cried Glo-
gowski, and with brinmiing glass, already a
bit wobbly on his pins he approached
Kotlicki.
" Most esteemed and gracious lady! I give
you plays written with my heart's blood; only
imderstand and value them justly!" he de-
claimed with mock pathos, kissing Kotlicki's
face.
"If you, oh master, will write them for me,
if you will not offend me with brutalities, if
you will reckon with me and write for me alone
so that I can enjoy and entertain myself, then
I will give you success!"
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The Comedienne 337
''First I will kick you and may you croak! "
hissed Glogowski bitterly.
Cabinski approached next.
''Most esteemed public! You are the sun,
you are beauty, you are omnipotence, you are
wisdom, you are the highest judge! Yours
are these children of Melpomene and for you
do they live, play, and sing! Tell me, oh
mighty lady, why are you not kind to us? I
entreat you, oh enlightened one, give us each
day a full theater!"
" My dear! Have a little money when you
come to Warsaw, have a large repertoire, a
select company, beautiful choruses and give
those plays which I like and your treasury will
be bursting with gold."
"Esteemed public ! " cried Glas, with a comi-
cal pathos, kissing Kotlicki's beard.
"Speak!" said Kotlicki.
' ' Esteemed female ! Give me some money and
then have your head shaved, a yellow jacket put
on you and green paper pasted about you and
we will see that you are sent where you belong."
"I can't promise you money, but I assure
you, you'll get . . . delirium tremens, my son
. . ." answered Kotlicki!
"Topolski, it's your turn!"
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338 The Comedienne
tti
'Give me a rest! I have enough of your
puppet shows."
Cabinska also did not wish to take part in
the amusement, but Mimi bowed comically
and stroked Kotlicki's face.
"My dear! my precious public!" she
entreated in caressing tones. "Keep Wladek
from continually falling in love with some new
charmer and . . . see, I could make use of
a bracelet, then a green suit for the fall, some
furs for the winter and ... see that the
director pays me my salary."
"You will get what you wish, for you desired
it sincerely, and here is the address."
He handed her his visiting card.
"Fine! Bravo!" cried the company.
"Miss Majkowska may now approach, for
I promise her a great deal in advance,"
announced Kotlicki.
"You are an old deceiver, dear public!
You promise continually, but you never give
me what you promise!" said Mela.
"I will give you ... in a year from now a
d6but at the Warsaw Theater and surely
engage you."
Majkowska shrugged her shoulders indiffer-
ently and sat down.
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The Comedienne 339
"MissOrlowska!"
Janina arose ; she felt a trifle dizzy but at the
same time she was so jolly and the game
appeared so comical to her, that she
approached Kotlicki and called out in an
entreating tone:. "I desire only one thing: to
be able to play. I ask only to be given r61es."
'*We shall speak about that with the di-
rector and you will get them."
"Let us quit that, for it is getting weari-
some, Kotlicki! Come over here, we are
starting the second rotmd of drinks."
They began to drink in earnest. The room
became full of buzzing voices and cigarette
smoke. Each of the assembled company argued
and persuaded separately, and everyone
shouted nonsense.
Majkowska leaned with her elbows upon
the table and, beating time with a knife against
a bottle of champagne, sang gayly.
The directress argued loudly with Mimi.
Topolski was silent and drank to himself
alone. Wawrzecki was relating various f tmny
anecdotes to Janina, while Glogowski, Glas,
and Kotlicki were engaged in a controversy
about the public.
Janina laughed and bickered with Wawr-
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340 The Comedienne
zecki, but already the wine had taken such an
effect upon her that she hardly knew what
she was doing. The room whirled around
with her and the candles elongated them-
selves to the size of torches. Once she would
feel a mad desire to dance^ then again to
latmch bottles like ducks into the large mirrors
which appeared to be water to her; or again,
she tried hard to understand what Glogowski
was just then saying. Glogowski, all flushed
and tipsy, with disheveled hair and with his
necktie on his back, was shouting, waving his
hands, striking his fist against Glas's stomach
instead of the table.
Glogowski shouted on: **To the dogs with
the public's judgment! I tell you the play
is bad! And if the audience applauded it and
you now praise it, that is the best proof that I
am right. There were a thousand of you; it
is so hard for a thousand people to agree upon
the truth. The individual alone is a thinking
man, but the multitude is an ignorant herd
that knows nothing.*'
"The multitude is a great man, proclaims
an old proverb," whispered Kotlicki senten-
tiously.
'*It proclaims nonsense! The multitude is
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The Comedienne 341
nothing but a big noise, a big illusion, a big
hallucination," retorted Glogowski.
''Master, you seem to be devilishly sure of
yourself."
"Dilettante, I merely know myself."
"By ginger! so many crazes in such a weak
box!" whispered Glas, feeling Glogowski's
chest.
"Genius does not abide in meat. A fat
man is merely a fat animal. A lofty soul
abhors fat. A healthy stomach and normality
denote merely the average mortal and the
average mortal is nothing but a boor."
"And such paradoxes are merely chaff."
"For asses and pseudo-intelligents'ia.''
'^ Dixit, brother! The Rhenish speaks
through your lips."
"Begin all over again!" interrupted Glas,
grabbing them both around the neck.
" If it is to drink, good ; if it is to talk, I'll say
good night! " yelled Kotlicki.
"Then let us drink!"
"Wawrzecki, dog's face! Get Mimi and
another girl and we'll arrange a little chorus."
They immediately got together and intoned
a gay song. Only Glogowski did not sing,
for he leaned against Cabinski and fell fast
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342 The Comedienne
asleep and Janina's head was so heavy that
she could not utter a single tone.
The singing continued with increasing gay-
ety, while Janina felt an irresistible drowsiness
overpowering her, felt herself reeling from her
chair.
Later she was half -conscious of someone
supporting her, covering her, leading her and
felt that she was riding in a hack. She felt
something near her which she could not make
out, felt a hot breath on her face, and arms
stealing about her waist; she heard the rtmible
of wheels and with difficulty distinguished a
voice whispering into her ear: — *'I love you, I
love you!" but she could not imderstand what
it all meant.
Suddenly she trembled, for she felt hot
kisses upon her mouth. She sprang up vio-
lently and recovered her senses.
Kotlicki was sitting beside her, holding her
about the waist and kissing her. She wanted
to shove him away from her, but her hands
dropped heavily to her side; she wanted to
scream out loud, but had no strength left;
drowsiness overpowered her again and threw
her into a lethargy, as it were.
Finally, the hack stopped and the sudden
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The Comedienne 343
silence awakened her. She saw that she was
standing on the sidewalk and that Kotlicki
was ringing the doorbell of some house.
'*God! God!'* she whispered in bewilder-
ment, imable to imderstand where she was.
Only then did Janina realize everything in a
flash when Kotlicki drew close to her and
whispered sweetly : ' * Come ! ' '
She tore herself away from him with the
force of great fear. He tried to put his arm
about her again but she shoved him back with
such violence that he went hurtling against the
wall and then she ran as though bereft of her
senses, for it seemed to her that he was pur-
suing, that he was already catching up with
her and ready to seize her. Her heart beat
like a trip hammer and her face burned with
shame and terror.
'*God! God!" she breathed, running ever
faster.
The streets were deserted and she was
frightened by the sound of her own footsteps,
by the hacks that she met at the street comers,
by the shadows that fell from the house walls
and by that awful stony silence of the sleeping
city in which there seemed to tremble sotmds
of weeping, sobs, and some horrible, dissolute
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344 The Comedienne
laughter and drunken cries that made her
shudder. She paused in the shadow of a door-
way, looked about her in terror, and gradually
remembered all that had happened: the play,
the supper, how she had drtmk, the singing and
how someone was again forcing her to drink;
and amid all those confused fragments of her
memory there apeared the long equine, face of
Kotlicki, the ride in the hack, and his kisses!
*'The vile wretch! The vile wretch!" she
whispered to herself, recovering herself entire-
ly; and she clenched her fists imtil the nails
dug into her flesh, so violent a wave of anger
and hatred surged through her. She was
choking with tears of helplessness and such
humiliation that she sobbed spasmodically as
she returned home.
It was already dawning.
Sowinska opened the door for her and
grumbled in irritation: ''You should have
come home earlier, instead of waking people
at this hour of the night."
Janina did not answer, bowing her head as
under a blow.
* ' The base wretches ! The base wretches ! ' *
That was the one cry that arose in her heart,
filled with rebellion and hatred.
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Janina no longer felt the shame and the
htimiliation, but only a boundless rage. She
ran about the room as though she were mad,
imknowingly ripped her waist and, unable to
control her fury, fell exhausted upon her bed
with her clothes on.
Her sleep was one dreadful torment. She
sprang up every minute with a cry as though
to nm away, then again, she raised her hand
as though with a glass full of wine and shouted
through her sleep: Vive/ She would begin
to sing or to cry every now and then with her
feverish lips: "The base wretches! The base
wretches!"
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CHAPTER IX
In a few days after the premidre of The
Churls, which remained upon the biU, but
attracted ever smaller audiences, Glogowski
came to Janina's home.
''What is the matter with you . . .?" she
exclaimed, extending her hand in friendly
greeting.
*' Nothing. . . . Well, I improved my play
a little. Did you read the criticisms?" '
''Some of them."
"I have brought all the reviews," said
Glogowski. "I'll read them."
He began to read.
One of the important weeklies maintained
that The Churls was a very good, original, and
superbly realistic play; that with Glogowski
there had, at last, appeared a real dramatist
who had let a current of fresh air into the
stagnant and anaemic atmosphere of our
dramatic creativity, and had given us real
people and real life. The only cause for regret
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The Comedienne 347
was that the staging of the play was beneath
criticism and the acting of it, with one or two
exceptions, scandalous.
The reviewer of one of the most estimable
dailies for two whole days rambled on in a
special supplement about the history of the
theater in France and about German actors,
he discussed theatrical novelties and after
every two paragraphs or so would remark in
parenthesis: "I saw him at the Odeon,'' ''I
heard this at the Burg Theater,'' ''I admired
such acting in London," etc. Then he ad-
duced various theatrical anecdotes, praised
actors who had died half a century ago, harked
back to the past of the stage, spoke in several
paragraphs about the red rags of radicalism
that had begim to appear on the stage, praised
with paternal indulgence the actors appearing
in The Churls, flattered Cabinski and wound
up by saying that he would probably give his
opinion of the play itself only after the author
had written another one, for this one was
merely to be forgiven a novice.
A third reviewer contended that the play
was not at all bad and would even be excellent,
if the author had chosen to honor theatrical
traditions and added music and dances to it.
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A f otirth took a diametrically opposite view-
point, maintaining that the play was positively
worthless, that it was rubbish, but that the
author possessed at least the one merit that
he had avoided the cut and dried formulas by
failing to introduce the usual songs and dances
which always lower the value of folk plays.
In the fifth review a ''specialist" on garden-
theaters wrote about a himdred paragraphs
somewhat to this effect: '* The Churls by Mr.
Glogowski — hm! . . . not a bad thing . . .
it would even be entirely good . . . but . . .
although, considering again ... at any rate
. . . one must have the courage to tell the
truth. ... At all events ... be that as it
may . . . (with a little qualifying phrase) the
author has a talent. The play is . . . hm
... let us see, how can we define it? About
two months ago I wrote something about it, so
I refer those that are interested to my former
article. . . . They played it excellently," —
and he enumerated the entire cast, placing
beside the name of each actress a sugary epi-
thet, and an ingratiating remark, a polite
description, a melancholy equivocation and
an empty phrase.
*' What do you call all that? " inquired Janina.
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''A libretto for an operetta. Entitle it
Theatrical Criticisms and set it to music and
you will have such a show that the whole
nation will flock to it as to a church festival."
''And what answer did you give to all
that?"
''I? . . . Nothing, of course! I merely
turned my back on them and, since I have a
splendid plan for a new play, I shall immedi-
ately start working on it. I have received a
job as a dramatic coach at Radomsk and I
shall go there for a half year. I am only
waiting for the final notification."
''Is it absolutely necessary for you to go?"
"Yes, I must! Dramatic coaching is my
only means of support. For two months I
have been without any occupation and now I
am penniless. I presented the play at my own
expense, paid my respects to the public, had a
good time at Warsaw and now it is time to
quit! It is time to ring down the curtain so
that I may prepare for another farce. Good-
bye, Miss Janina. Before I leave, I'll drop in
here or at the theater."
He shook hands with her, exclaimed, " MayH
the deuce take me!" and hurried away. ^
"Jamna was sad. She had become so accus-
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350 The Comedienne
tomed to Glogowski, to his eccentricities,
paradoxes, and to that rough and ready man-
ner which was merely a screen for his shyness
and hypersensitive delicacy that regret filled
her at the thought that she was now to remain
alone.
She had no more money left and was living
solely on what she received at the theater.
Janina dared not admit it to herself, but with
each new request for money she would be
reminded of her home and of those times when
it was unnecessary for her to think of any-
thing, for she had all she needed. She felt
deeply htmiiliated by this almost daily begging
for a few meager copecks, but there was no
way out of it, unless it was the one that she
constantly read in the gray eyes of Sowin-
ska and saw exemplified in the life of her
companions.
Almost each evening Janina would stroll on
Theater Place. If she was in a great hurry,
she would only pass through the place, get a
glimpse of the Grand Theater and return home
again, but if she had plenty of time she would
find a seat on the square or on a bench near
the tramcar station and from there gaze at
the rows of columns, at the lofty profile of the
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theater's fagade and lose herself in dreaming.
She somehow felt that those walls drew her
irresistibly to them. She experienced mo-
ments of deep delight when passing tinder the
colonnade, or when in the calm of a bright
night she viewed the long gray mass of the
edifice. That huge stone giant seemed to
speak to her and she would listen to the whis-
pers, the echoes, and the sounds that floated
from it. Spread out before her in the dim
twilight and visible to her soul alone, there
would pass before her imagination the scenes
that were acted there not long ago.
An additional reason for losing herself in
xireams was to dull the pinch of poverty, that
had become more acute, for the second half of
the theatrical season, from a financial stand-
point, was a great deal worse than the first.
The attendance was increasingly smaller
because of the continual rains and the cold
evenings and, of course, the pay of the actors
was proportionately smaller.
It often happened that Cabinski in the
middle of a performance would take the cash
box and make away with it under the pretext
that he was ill, leaving only a few rubles to
be divided among the company and, if he was
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caught before he made his escape, he would
ahnost cry.
And if he led anyone by the arm in a friendly
manner to the box office it was a prearranged
sign for Gold, who was to say that there was
no money to be had. If he did not lead a
person in this manner, the treasurer would
assume a worried look and complain: ''I
haven't even enough to pay the gas bills and
where am I going to get the money for the
rent? Why, there isn't enough to pay running
expenses."
" Let him have at least something. Perhaps
we can put off the payment of some bill to-day
..." Cabinski would pretend to intercede.
He would then leave an order for the pay-
ment of the money and walk away. But it
almost always so happened that Gold did not
have the sum for which the order was made
out. The amotint paid was always short,
even if it were only by a few copecks. The
actors called him all sorts of names, but each
took what was offered.
Gold pretended to be insulted and usually
appealed to the directress, who would always
sit in the box office whenever she was not
taking part in the play. Cabinska would then
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sharply reproach the actors and loudly praise
the honesty of Gold, who with the small
salary that he received helped his sister, in
addition to supporting himself. Gold would
beam with joy at the remembrance of his
sister; his eyes would flash with tenderness
and at such moments he would fervently
promise to pay the missing amoimt on the
following day without fail ; but he never paid.
The performances were rattled off to get
through with them, for the general disorder
caused by Cabinski's overthieveries was grow-
ing ever greater and, moreover, the nearness
of the departure for Warsaw, the debts in
which all were swamped, the approach of winter
and the worry over securing new engagements
did not put anyone in a mood for playing.
And all the while Cabinski, kissed everyone
and promised to pay, but never did so. He
knew how to arrange matters so skillfully and
acted so excellently the part of a man worried
about the welfare of everyone that Janina
feeling his troubles and believing him, often
lacked the courage to remind him of the
money he owed her. Moreover, she knew
that between the director and his wife there
went on a continual battle over expenses and
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that the nurse often bought various things for
the children out of her own savings, while
Cabinska would sit twice as long at the pastry-
shop to avoid hearing the complaints.
Slowly, but in an ever narrowing circle,
poverty hemmed Janina in and clouded her
face with ceaseless worry.
Janina suffered all the more in her present
condition because she was imable to seclude
herself from other people as she used to do at
Bukowiec after every quarrel with her father.
She could not rave with the gales and calm her-
self inwardly by sheer physical exhaustion.
She tramped about the city but everywhere
she met too many people. She would have
gladly confided to Glogowski all that troubled
her, but had not the courage to do so, for she
was restrained by pride. Glogowski seemed
to guess her condition, or at least her worries,
and would often remind her that she ought to
tell him everything . . . everything. But she
did not do so.
She stayed at home as little as possible, and
whenever^ she entered the house she tried to
do it so quietly that no one might hear her.
It was not the possibility that she might find
herself thrown o^* i^*o *he street on the mor-
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The Comedienne 355
row that frightened her, but the fact that
Mme. Anna or Sowinska might say to her
ctirtly: ''Pay what you owe me."
But that moment finally arrived. While
eating her dinner Janina knew the inevitable
had come. She caught just one glance of
Mme. Anna's eyes while she was serving the
soup and in them read everything.
After the meal, which to Janina had been
torture, Mme. Anna followed her immediately
and, in the most unconcerned manner, began to
relate something about a fantastic customer.
Then, suddenly, as though she had remem-
bered something, she said: ''Oh yes, I almost
forgot! Perhaps you will let me have that
half -month's rent, for I must pay the landlord
to-day."
"I haven't the money to-day • . ." she
wanted to add something else, but her voice
failed her.
" What do you mean? Please give me what
you owe me! I hope you don't think that I
can feed anyone free of charge . . . just for
fim, or for the sake of having them as an
ornament in my home! A fine ornament
indeed, that stays up all night and comes home
only in the wee hours of the morning!"
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"You needn't fear that I won't pay you!**
cried Janina suddenly aroused.
*' I need the money right away ! "
*'You will have it ... in an hour!" an-
swered Janina, making some sudden determi-
nation; she glanced with such scorn at Mme.
Anna that the latter left without a word,
slamming the door after her.
From her companions Janina had heard
something about the pawnshop and she
immediately went there to pawn her gold
bracelet, the only one that she possessed.
On returning home she immediately paid
Mme. Anna, who was surprised, but not very
polite.
Having done that Janina added: "I will
have my meals at the restaurant; I don't want
to trouble you."
''Just as you like. If things here don't suit
you, you are free to do as you please!" whis-
pered the deeply humiliated Mme. Anna.
By that one act Janina incurred the enmity
of the whole house.
. ''I will sell everything I possess . . . even
to the last button!" she said to herself with
bitter resolve.
And Janina calculated that for one half of
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what she had been paying Mme. Anna she
could get all the food that she needed. Wol-
ska directed her to a cheap lunch-room and
she went there for her dinners; when she had
not money enough for that, a roll with a
sardine had to suffice her for the entire day.
But one day the theater was closed, for
there were only twenty rubles in the treasury;
on the following day the performance was
postponed because of a heavy downpour.
Janina, like everyone else, did not receive a
single copeck from Cabinski and during those
two days had absolutely nothing to eat.
This first himger which she could not
appease because she had nothing to appease it
with had a fearful effect upon her. She felt
within herself a strange and unceasing pain.
"Starvation! Starvation!" Janina whis-
pered to herself in terror.
Hitherto she had known it by its name only.
Now she wondered at that sensation of hunger
within her. It seemed strange to her that she
felt like eating and hadn't the money even to
buy herself a roll!
"Is it possible that I have nothing to eat?"
Janina asked herself.
From the kitchen there was wafted to her
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the smell of frying meat. She shut the door
tightly for that smell nauseated her.
Janina remembered with a strange emotion
that the majority of great artists in various
ages also suffered poverty and himger. The
thought consoled her for a while. She felt as
though she were anointed with the first pang
of martyrdom for art's sake.
She smiled in the mirror with a melancholy
look at her yellowish and worn face. She
tried to read to rid herself, as it were, of her
own personality, but she could not, for she
constantly felt that growing hunger.
She gazed out of the window at the long
yard surrounded on all sides by the high
windows of the adjoining houses, but she saw
how in a few houses people were sitting down
to the table and saw the workmen in the yard
also eating their dinner from small clay pots.
She quickly drew back from the window for
she felt hunger like a steel hand with sharp
claws tearing her even more violently.
''Everybody is eating!" Janina said to
herself as though this was the first time that
she had taken note of that fact.
Latershe lay down and slept tmtil the evening
without going either to the rehearsal or to Cabin-
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The Comedienne 359
ska's home, but she felt even weaker upon awak-
ing and had a painful dizziness in her head,
while that keen and constant sapping sensation
within herself tormented her so that she wept.
In the evening in the dressing-room a
boisterous gayety possessed Janina; she
laughed continually, joked and made fun of
her companions quarreled over some trifle
with Mimi and then flirted from the stage with
the occupants of the front row of seats.
When the coimselor appeared behind the
scenes right after the first act with a box of
candy, Janina greeted him joyously and
pressed his hand so tightly that the old man
became confused. Afterwards she sat down
in some dark comer, waiting for the stage-
director to cry : ' ' Enter ! ' ' When the darkness
and silence enveloped her, she broke into
convulsive sobbing.
After the performance Janina received a
quadruple payment on account — ^two whole
rubles. Cabinski gave them to her himself
in secret so that the others might not see it.
Janina went out for supper on the veranda
and became intoxicated with one glass of
whiskey so that she herself requested Wladek
to escort her home.
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From that evening Wladek followed her like
a shadow and began openly to show her his
love, paying no attention to the fact that his
mother was asking everybody in the theater
about him and constantly tracking both him
and Janina.
One day Glogowski came rushing into Ja-
nina's home and cried out already from the
doorway: ''Well, I have come back again to
my Zulus! ..."
He fltmg his hat on a trtmk, sat on the bed
and began to roll a cigarette.
Janiiia gazed at him calmly and thought
how strange it was that the coming of this
friend who had interested her so deeply in the
past should now leave her so indifferent.
''So you do not weep with joy at seeing me
again, eh? Ha! I'll have to resign myself to
it. No doubt the dogs alone will weep over
me ! May the deuce take me ! But don't you
happen to know what is the matter with
Kotlicki? He does not come to the theater
any more and I can't find him anywhere. He
must have journeyed somewhere."
"I have not seen him since the night of that
supper," answered Janina slowly.
"There must be some reason for his dis-
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appearance! Probably some adventtire, some
love affair, some . . . But why should I
bother about such a green monkey, eh? Isn't
that true?"
''Indeed it is!" whispered Janina, turning
her face toward the window.
''Oh! and what does that mean?" he cried,
glancing sharply into her eyes. "Goodness,
how you have changed! Simken and glassy
eyes, yellowish complexion, sharpened fea-
tures. . . . What does it all mean?" he
asked in a quieter tone.
Suddenly he struck his hand to his forehead
and began to rtm up and down the room like a
maniac.
"What an idiot I am. What a monster!
Here I am parading about Warsaw, while here
real, artistic poverty has quartered itself in
earnest! Miss Janina," he cried, taking her
hand and looking steadily into her eyes, "Miss
Janina! I want you to tell me everything as
at confession. May the deuce take me, but
you must tell me!"
Janina was silent; but seeing his honest face
and hearing that sympathetic voice whose
accents had a strange way of gripping one's
heart, she suddenly felt overcome by feeling.
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and tears stood in her eyes. She cotild not
speak for emotion.
''Well, well, there's no use crying, fori
shall depart anjrway," he said jokingly to hide
his own emotion. ''Now, just listen to me
. . . but wijjiout any protests or loud opposi-
tion, for I detest parliamentarism! I see you
are in poverty and theatrical poverty in the
bargain. . . . Well, I happen to know what
it's like. Now, for goodness' sake, stop blush-
ing. Poverty that is honestly acquired is not
anything to be ashamed of! It's nothing but
an ordinary smallpox which all people who are
worth anything in this world have to pass
through. Ho! ho! I have been plajdng blind-
man's buff with troubles since many a year!
Well, I shall end what I am saying in a gallop.
Let us do this ..."
He turned around, took from his pocket-
book thirty rubles, that is, all the money that
had been sent him for his journey, placed it
tinder Janina's pillow and returned to his
former seat.
"'Now we are agreed, are we not, my
cousin . . .' said Louis XI after beheading
the Duke of Anjou. I will accept no appeal
and if you dare to ... "
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He grasped his hat and extending his hand,
said softly: ''Good-bye, Miss Janina/'
With a desperate motion, Janina hastily
barred the door with her body.
''No, no! Do not humiliate me! I am
tmfortunate enough as it is," she whispered,
firmly holding his hand.
"There you have a woman's philosophy!
May the deuce take me, but that which I did
is as natural as the fact that I will some day
blow out my brains and that you will become
a great actress!"
Janina began to expostulate with him, and
finally to urge him to take back his money,
saying that she did not need it, that she would
not accept it, and showing a deep aversion to
being helped.
Glogowski became gloomy and said roughly:
"What! May the deuce take me, but of the
two of us I certainly am not the fool ! But no !
I refuse to get provoked about it. I shall sit
down calmly and talk it over with you seri-
ously. I don't want you to get angry at me
over such an empty thing as money. You
don't want to take it, although you need it,
and why? Because a false shame deters you,
because you have been taught that such simple
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364 The Comedienne
hiiman things as helping one another lowers
one's pride. Such conceptions are already-
becoming putrid. To the museum with them !
Those are foolish and evil prejudices. May
the deuce take me, but it requires a European
brain and hysterical subtlety to hesitate to
accept money from a htiman being like your-
self when you are in need. Why and to what
purpose do you think the htiman herd tmites
itself into some form of society? Is it mutu-
ally to devour and rob one another or mutually
to help one another? I know you will tell me
that it is otherwise, but I answer you that
that is precisely why we have so much evil in
this world. And once we recognize a thing
as evil we ought to shtin it. Man ought to
do good. That is his duty. To do good is
the wisest mathematics. But Great Scott!
What's the use of my making so much ado
about it!" he cried in irritation.
He continued to speak for a long while yet,
scoffed, swore occasionally, shouted: *'May
the deuce take me," and raged fiercely, but in
his voice there was so much sincere and deep
friendliness, such heartfelt kindness, that
Janina, although she was not at all convinced,
accepted his proffered aid with a grateful
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handclasp only because she did not wish to
offend him by refusing.
"Well, that is what I like! And now . . .
good-bye!" he said, arising to go.
''Good-bye! I wish to thank you once
more and I am so very grateful and obligated
to you ..." murmured Jani^a.
''If you only knew how much kindness
people have shown me! I would like to repay
only one himdredth part of it to others. I
will add yet that we shall no doubt meet each
other in the spring."
"Where?" asked Janina.
"Bah! I don't know! but that it will be in
the theater of that I am sure, for I have deter-
mined to join the theater in the spring, if only
for a half year so that I may gain a better
knowledge of the stage."
"Oh, that's an excellent idea!"
' ' Now we are even with one another, as my fa-
ther used to say after he had massaged my hide
so that it shoneasthoughfreshly tanned. I leave
you my address and say nothing, only remind
you that you are to tell me everything by letter
. . . everything! Do you give me your word?"
"I give you my word!" Janina answered
gravely.
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ii^
'I tnist your word as though it were that
of a man, although with women a word of
honor is usually an empty word only, which
they make use of, but never fulfill. Good-
bye!"
Glogowski pressed both her hands firmly,
raised them a little as though he were eager
to kiss them, but quickly dropped them again,
glanced into her eyes, laughed a trifle unnatur-
ally— and departed.
Janina sat thinking for a long time about
him. She felt so deep a gratitude toward him
and felt so cheered and strengthened by her
talk with him that she regretted she did not
know on what train Glogowski was leaving, for
she had a desire to see him once more.
Then again, there arose in her something
that protested loudly against the aid he had
given her, something that saw in that kind-
ness an insult.
*'Alms!" Janina whispered bitterly and felt
a burning pain of humiliation.
''Can't I live alone, can't I get along by my
own tinaided strength, can't I be sufficient
tmto myself? Must I continually lean on
someone for support? Must there always be
someone watching over me? The others Imow
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how to help themselves, why can't I?" she
asked herself.
Janina pondered over this, but a moment
later she went to the pawnshop to redeem her
bracelet and on the way bought herself an
inexpensive autumn hat.
Life dragged on for her slowly, sluggishly, and
wearily.
Janina was sustained only by the hope, or
rather by a deep faith that all this would
change radically and soon, and in this longing
anticipation she began to pay ever more
attention to Wladek. She knew that he loved
her. She listened almost daily to his confes-
sions and proposals, smiling deep within herself
and thinking that in spite of all she could not
become that which her companions became.
Their mode of life aroused a deep aversion in
her for she felt a truly organic revulsion to all
forms of filth. But these attentions of Wladek
had at least this effect, that they awakened
in her for the first time conscious thoughts of
love.
She dreamed at moments of loving a man
to whom she could give herself entirely and
for all time; she dreamed of a united life full
of ecstasy and love, such a love as poets
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presented in their plays; and then there would
pass before her mind the figiires of all the great
lovers about whom she had read, passionate
whispers, burning embraces, volcanic passions
and that whole Titanic love life, the remem-
brance of which sent a tremor of delight
through her.
Janina did not know whence these dreams
came, but they would visit her ever more
frequently in spite of the poverty which again
began to grow more distressing, and the fre-
quent himger that gripped her as it were in
bony embrace. Her bracelet again went to
the pawnshop, for she continually had to buy
some new article of wear for the stage, so that
often she was forced to deny herself food only
to be able to buy what she needed. New plays
were continually presented to draw the public
but success was as far off as ever.
Such a situation harassed and tormented
Janina dreadfully, robbing her of her strength,
but it also awakened a rebellion which began
to seethe silently within her. She felt at first
an indefinable animosity toward everybody.
She regarded with a fierce envy the women
whom she met on the street.
Often, she would be seized with a mad desire
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to stop one of those well-dressed ladies and
ask her whether she knew what poverty was.
She observed intently their faces, their clothes,
and their smiles and came to the painf til con-
clusion that these ladies could not know that
there were other people who suffered, wept,
and were htingry. But later Janina began to
reason that she herself was dressed in the same
way as these other women; that there may be
among them others in the same plight as she,
and that perhaps unknowingly they passed
her on the way, hungry and desperate, hurling
the same glances at other passers-by that she
did. She tried to distinguish the faces of such
sufferers in the multitude, but-could not. All
appeared to be satisfied and happy.
Then, something like the triumph of her
own ascendancy over this well-dressed and
well-fed multitude lit up Janina's face. She
felt herself to be far superior to this world of
everyday mortals.
''I have an idea, an aim!" she thought.
"What do they live for? What is their object
in life?" she would often ask herself. And
tmable to answer that question, Janina would
smile pityingly at the emptiness of their
existence.
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''A race of butterflies that knows not
whence, nor why, nor to what end their life
has been given them!" — she whispered, sating
herself to her heart's content with that silent
scorn of people that was growing to abnormal
proportions in her.
Cabinska, Janina now hated with her whole
soul, for although Pepa always treated her
with a sugary affability, she never paid her
for Yadzia's piano lessons, taking advantage of
Janina's situation and abilities with a hypo-
critical smile of friendliness. Janina could
not sever relations with her, for she felt dis-
tinctly that behind that mask of politeness
that Pepa wore there was hidden a fury who
would not forgive her that. Furthermore, she
hated Cabinska as a woman, a mother, and an
actress. She had come to know her well, and
moreover, in her present period of continual
strain and struggle, she had either to love or
hate someone immensely. Janina did not love
anyone as yet, but already she hated.
''Do you know it is hardly believable that
such an incompetent judge as the directress
should herself assign the r61es for all our
plays!'' she once remarked to Wladek greatly
embittered by the fact that she had been
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The Comedienne 371
ignored in the selection of the cast for an old
melodramatic caricatitre entitled Martin^ the
Foundling.
''It is too bad that you did not ask her for
a r61e for, as you see, the director can do
nothing," said Wladek.
"Quite true! That's a good idea! I'll try
it to-morrow."
''Ask her for the r61e of 'Mary' in Doctor
Robin which we are to present next week.
Some amateur wishes to join our company
and he is to make his d6but as 'Garrick. ' "
"What sort of r61e is that of 'Mary? ' "
"A splendid display r61e! I think that you
would act it superbly. I can bring you the
play, if you wish."
"Good! we can read it together."
On the morrow Janina received a solemn
promise from Cabinska that she would be
given the part.
In the afternoon Wladek brought Doctor
Robin. This was his first visit to Janina's
home, so he took care to appear particularly
handsome, elegant, polite, and somewhat
absent-minded. He acted love and respect for
Janina with the skill of a virtuoso ; he was very
quiet, as though from an excess of happiness.
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372 The Comedienne
'For the first time I feel shy and happy! '*
he said, kissing Janina's hand.
' ' Why shy? You are alway so sure of your-
self on the stage!" she answered, a bit
confused.
''Yes, on the stage, where one only plays
happiness, but not here . . . where I am
really happy."
*' Happy?" she repeated.
Wladek glanced at Janina with such
passionate intensity, with such mastery of
facial expression, accentuated by a rapturous
smile, simulating the ecstasy and transport of
love, that had he shown this on the stage he
would have been warmly applauded.
Janina understood him excellently and
something stirred in her as though some new
string in her heart had been lightly plucked.
Wladek b§gan to read the play. With each
of *' Mary's" ^rds, Janina's enthusiastic *
nature burst forth 3new. With bated breath,
and eyes fixed on Wladek, she listened, not
daring to mar, either by word or gesture, the
impression that his readinj? made on her. She
feared to dispel the charm that spoke through
his eloquent voice and in tlje velvety softness
of his black eyes. \
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The Comedienne 373
When he had finished reading, the girl cried
out in rapture: ''What a splendid r61e!"
*'I am willing to wager that you will make
a furore in it/' remarked Wladek.
''Yes . . . I feel that I could play it fairly-
well. 'Garrick, that creator of souls, so
mighty in CoriolanusI ' " she whispered, repeat-
ing a remembered line of the play.
And Janina's face glowed with such fervor,
so radiant did she become with her deep inner
joy, that Wladek scarcely recognized her.
"You are an enthusiast," he said.
*'Yes, because I love art! Give all for art
and everything is contained in art! . . . that
is my motto. Beyond art I see almost
nothing," answered Janina suddenly kindling
anew with ardor.
"Even love? " asked Wladek.
" But art appears to me to be a greater and
completer expression of the ideal than
love ..." answered Janina.
"But it is more alien to human beings and
not so necessary to life as is love. Without
art the world could exist, but without love . . .
never! Moreover, art causes more painful
disappointments than love."
"But it also gives greater joys. Love is an
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374 The Comedienne
individual emotion; art is a social emotion, a
sjoithesis. One loves it with one's humanity,
one suffers for it, but only through art does
one sometimes become immortal!"
' ' Those are dreams. Thousands have given
their lives to become convinced of that and
thousands have cursed that unattainable
mirage."
''But those thousands had their lives filled
with that mirage and felt more than one can
feel, who dreams about nothing."
''But since they were not happy, what is it
all worth?'
"And are most people happy?"
"A thousandfold more so than we!"
Wladek emphasized that " we " significantly.
"Never!" cried Janina, "for our happiness
lies in pain as it does in joy, in dejection as
well as ecstasy. Even this in itself is happi-
ness: to be able to develop one's self spiritu-
ally; to reach far out into infinity with the
arms of desire; to create new worlds in our
mind, larger and more beautiful than those
surroimding us; to chant, even through tears
and pain, hymns to beauty and inmiortality ; to
dream, but to dream so intensely as to forget
about life entirely and to live in dreams alone ! "
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The Comedienne 375
Janina felt so great a flood of happiness and
inspiration flowing into her soul that she
spoke, as it were, only in periods of her
thought, so that she might express herself at
least in part. She spoke, entirely forgetful of
the fact that some one was listening to her and
sptm out aloud ever grander and ever more
evanescent dreams.
Wladek at first listened attentively, but
later grew impatient.
**A comMienne!" he thought with iroay^ — ^s
And he was stire that J anina was tmftirling before
him the peacock feathers of fervor and enthu-
siasm merely to fascinate and conquer him.
He did not answer or interrupt ner, for it
finally began to bore him.
"That r61e of 'Mary* is a trifle too senti-
mental ..." added Janina after a longer
silence.
'* To me it seemed merely lyrical," answered
Wladek.
" I should like some time to play 'Ophelia.' "
**Are you familiar with Hamlet?'' asked
Wladek, somewhat surprised.
"During the last two years I have read
nothing but dramas and dreamed of the
stage," she answered simply.
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376 The Comedienne
"Truly it is worth bending the knee before
such enthusiasm ! ' *
"Why? All that is necessary is to help it,
to give it a field, an opportunity. ..."
"If I only could. . . . Believe me when I
say, that with my whole heart I desire to see
you reach the heights of art."
"I believe you," Janina answered in a
quieter tone. "And I thank you very much
for Doctor Robin.'*
"May I copy out the r61e for you?"
"I will copy it myself; it will give me a cer-
tain pleastire."
"While you are learning it, I could act as a
prompter for you, if you like."
"Oh, I should not want to take up any of
your time . . ."
"Exclude a few hours each day for the
performance and the rest of my time is yours
to dispose of as you will," he said with fervor.
They gazed at each other a moment.
Janina gave Wladek her hand; he held and
kissed it for a long time.
"Beginning with to-morrow I shall start to
learn the part for I have a day off, ' ' said Janina.
"I also do not appear on the stage
to-morrow."
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The Comedienne 377
Wladek went out a little angry at himself,
for although he called Janina a ''comedienne"
she had made him feel abashed with her
simplicity and enthusiasm. Moreover, he
felt in her a certain intellectual and artistic
superiority.
Janina feverishly applied herself to the
study of Doctor Rohin. In a few days she
knew not only the r61e of ''Mary," but had
memorized the entire play. So intensely
eager was she to play the r61e, that it seemed as
though she were staking her whole life on this
performance. Her former dreams that had
been subdued a bit by poverty and the feverish
life of the theater now again burst forth with a
flaming intensity that dazzled and hypnotized
her. The theater again took so powerful a
hold on Janina that there was no room in her
consciousness for anything else. In her hours
of ecstasy it appeared to her like a mystic
altar suspended high above the gray vale of
everyday life and glowing with flames like a
second burning bush of Moses; it seemed to
her like a miracle that endured eternally.
Wladek came to see Janina each day in the
interval between the rehearsal and the per-
formance, although he was already beginning
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378 The Comedienne
to be immensely bored by her endlessly re-
peated raptures and was growing impatient
over the fact that in her mad absorption in art
she did not pay much attention to him. He
could not penetrate her morbid enthusiasm,
as he called it, with his love, but he neverthe-
less continued to go to her.
He began to desire Janina's love ever more
strongly. He was invited by her naivete and
by the talent which he felt she possessed.
Moreover, he had long since desired just such
an elegant and educated mistress. He wanted
by all means to possess this refined and genteel
girl, who was so different from his former
mistresses and who captivated him by the
charm of her superiority. His triumph would
be all the greater, he told himself, because of
the fact that she seemed to him one of those
ladies of the fashionable world upon whom he
would often cast covetous glances in the
Ujazdowskie Allies.
Janina had not told Wladek that she loved
him, but he already saw it in her eyes and
spun an ever stronger web about her made up
of smiles, passionate words, sighs, and exag-
gerated respect.
For Janina this was the most beautiful
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The Comedienne 379
period that she had known in her life. Pov-
erty she treated with scorn, as though it were
only a temporary thing that would soon pass
away.
Sowinska, after Wladek's frequent visits,
became more intimate and friendly with Ja-
nina and advised her to sell those parts of her
wardrobe which she did not need, even offering
to do it for her.
And so life went on for Janina who was
oblivious to everything else but that perform-
ance of Doctor Robin which she awaited with
the greatest impatience. She lived, as it were,
in a troubled dream. Through the prism of
dreams the world again appeared brighter to
her, and people kind. She forgot about every- 1
thing, even about Glogowski, whose recent
letter she laid away only half read, for she now i
lived entirely in the future. She fortified her-
self against the present with dreams of what
was to come.
Furthermore, Janina loved Wladek. She
did not know how it had come about, but she
now knew that she could not do without him.
She felt very happy and peaceful, when, lean-
ing on his arm, she walked along the streets
and listened to his low, melodious voice. The
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soft velvety glances of his dark eyes made her
glow with passion and a sweet helplessness. . . .
Everything about him attracted her. He
appeared so beautiful upon the stage! He
acted with such fervor and lyricism the parts
of unhappy lovers in the melodramas! He
spoke, moved about and posed with such
charming simplicity. He was the favorite of
the public; even the press bestowed frequent
praises upon him and predicted a brilliant
artistic future for him.
It pleased Janina to see him applauded on
the stage. And so skillfully did he know how
to exhibit the resources of his brain, that he
was generally taken for an educated man,
while in reality he possessed only cleverness
and the brazenness of a Warsaw loafer and
trickster. Moreover, for Janina he was the
first and only man to whom she had ever
surrendered herself. It seemed to her that
this botmd them for all time and indissolubly .
It happened, as it were, of itself, after one of
the rehearsals of Doctor Robin in which Wladek
acted as a substitute in the r61e of ''Garrick."
When they had left the theater he spoke or
rather declaimed to her about love with a
volcanic outburst of passion and accentuated
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The Comedienne 381
his emotion with such pathos that he stirred
her to the very depths of her soul. She felt
sudden tears of tenderness welling up in her
eyes; and a desire for tremendous happiness
through life and death remained in her dream-
ing heart. Her whole soul was absorbed in the
desire for love.
Janina did not even know what was happen-
ing to her, for she could not resist the fasci-
nation of his voice. That musical pleading of
love, those burning kisses, and those passion-
ate glances flooded her entire being with an
overwhelming and mad desire for joy. She
abandoned herself to him with the passiveness
of a fascinated creature, without a word of
protest or resistance, but also without a
consciousness of what she was doing ; in a word,
she was hypnotized.
She did not even know what it was in him
that she loved: the actor masterfully playing
upon her emotions and enthusiasm, or the
man. Janina did not think of this. She
loved him because she loved him and because
he personified the theater and art for her.
It seemed to Janina that through his eyes
she saw farther and deeper. Her soul was
growing (as the peasants describe certain
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382 The Comedienne
stages in the development of youth), so besides
her distant plans of fame in the futtire, she
needed something for herself alone, she needed
to strengthen herself and support herself on
some loving heart which would at the same
time serve as a stepping-stone for her own
elevation. She no longer felt lonely, for she
could now reveal to Wladek her most secret
thoughts, dreams, and projects for the future
and go over various heroic r61es together with
him. He was a sort of physical complement
of her, and outlet for her excessive energy
^nd dreams.
Janina did not submerge and lose herself in
j Wladek's being, but rather absorbed him into
I herself. And not for one moment did she
/ think that she had surrendered herself to him,
that he was henceforth her lover and lord and
that she belonged to him! She did not even
consider whether he had a soul or not. It
sufficed her to know that he was handsome,
popular, that he loved her and that she needed
him. Even in her most intimate confidences
and whispers of love there was a tone of
\ unconscious superiority. She spoke with him
' continually but almost n^ver asked him for his
opinion and very seldom listened to his replies.
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The Comedienne 383
Wladek cotdd not understand this, but he
was conscious of it and it acted as an unpleas-
ant restraint upon him, for in spite of their
intimate relation, he cotdd not feel at ease
with her in his own way. It wounded his self-
love, but he had no way of remedying it. He
possessed her body, but not her soul — that
mysterious something, that love that gives
itself for life and eternity and makes of itself
a footstool for the lover. This attitude of
Janina's irritated him, but nevertheless
attracted him so irresistibly that he doubled
his pretenses of love, thinking that by a larger
dose of sentimental falsehood, and a better
acting of emotion he would at last captivate
and conquer her completely. However, he
did not succeed in doing so.
Janina, aside from this love, gradually
renounced everything, yet in spite of that she
felt content. She often suffered himger, but it
was enough for her to have Wladek at her side
and to become absorbed in her r61e, to forget
about the whole world.
The performance of Doctor Robin was post-
poned from day to day, for the amateur who
was to make his d6but in it became ill. In the
meanwhile, other plays had to be given; so
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384 The Comedienne
Janina was forced to content herself with
waiting. She was consumed by impatience
and the ambition to rise at once above the
throng of her companions and was also
impelled by the hope of ending her poverty
by this means and finally, by the need of her
own soul which had formed its own conception
of the character of ''Mary" and had to give
it forth.
Janina did not even pay attention to what
was brewing behind the scenes where every
day schemes and projects for new companies
were formed, only to be abandoned after a
few days. Krzykiewicz had already deli-
cately suggested to Janina on a few occasions
that, if she wished, she could secure an engage-
ment with Ciepieszewski. She declined, for
she remembered Topolski's project and wished
to wait for its realization, knowing that he was
coimting on her for sure.
Topolski was in reality organizing a com-
pany. It was meant to be a secret as yet, but
everyone knew about it. It was openly said
that Mimi, Wawrzecki, Piesh with his wife,
and a few of the younger forces had already
signed a contract and that Topolski had
quietly closed a deal for the Lubelsk Theater, a
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The Comedienne 385
new building that had just been opened. It
was known for certain that Kotlicki and others
had advanced him the necessary capital.
Cabinski, of course, knew all about this and
loudly ridiculed these projects. He knew very
well that he could win back all those who had
joined Topolski by merely giving them larger
advances on their salaries. He predicted that
Topolski would not hold out for one season
and would go to smash, for he did not believe
that anyone was willing to loan him money for
organizing a new company.
''There are no longer any such fools!" he
said aloud with conviction. What amused
him most was Topolski's proposed reform of
the theater which he unceremoniously termed
an idiocy. Cabinski knew the public well and
knew what it wanted.
Topolski held frequent soirees at his home
to which he invited all those whom he might
need. But he did not yet speak openly about
his company, leaving that to Wawrzecki who
treated the matter enthusiastically as though
it were his own and used it to tatmt Cabinski
with and to create more frequent rumpuses
about his overdue salary.
Janina was present at a few of these eve-
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386 The Comedienne
nings at Topolski's house, but was bored by
them, for the men would usually play cards,
while the women, if they were not gossiping or
complaining, would enclose themselves within
a narrow circle for secret whispering from
which they barred Janina, fearing that she
might betray something to Cabinski, to whose
home she went daily to give piano lessons.
At the last of these evenings, while they
were having tea, Majkowska quietly begged
Janina to stay a little longer, promising that
she and Topolski would accompany her home.
Wladek never appeared at these affairs, for
he was an open and stanch supporter of
Cabinski.
After all the rest had gone Topolski sat
opposite Janina and began to tell her about
the company he was organizing.
''It will be an exemplary theater for true
art! I have a splendid , ensemble of actors; I
have made a contract for one of the best
theaters, the library is ready to be sent away
and the costumes are already half completed,
hence we have almost all that is needed."
''What are you still lacking? " asked Janina,
determining immediately to ask for an
engagement.
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The Comedienne 387
"A little money . . . a mere trifle of about
a thousand rubles as a working capital for the
first month," answered Topolski.
''Couldn't you borrow it?"
"Yes . . . and that is precisely what I
want to talk over with you in a friendly way,
for we already cotmt you as one of us. I will
give you a good salary and alternating r61es
with Mela for I know that you are a capable
actress. You have the appearance, the voice
and the temperament, and, aside from intelli-
gence, that is just what is required to make an
excellent actress."
*' Oh thank you, thank you sincerely! " cried
Janina beaming with joy. And so elated was
she that she kissed Majkowska, who, as was
her habit, was almost lying on the table and
gazing absently at the lamp.
**But you must help us!" said Topolski
after a short pause.
' * I ? What can I do? " she asked in surprise.
"A great deal! If you only want to . . . "
he answered.
** Well! if you say that I can, then, of course
I shall be glad to help, for it is not only my
duty, but also in my own interest! But Fm
very curious to know what I can do."
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388 The Comedienne
'* It's a question of that one thousand rubles.
The money is already assured, only there is one
little condition ..."
''What is it?" Janina asked curiously.
Topolski drew closer to her, took hold of her
hands in a friendly way and only then
answered:
"Miss Janina — ^not only our theater, but
your entire artistic future depends on this, so I
will tell you frankly that there is someone who
is ready to give even two thousand rubles, but
he said that he would give them only to you
personally, otherwise not at all."
"Who is that person?" she asked uneasily,
"Kotlicki!"
Janina dropped her head and for a while a
deep silence reigned in the room. Topolski
gazed at her tmeasily, while Majkowska had
upon her face an indescribably derisive smile.
Janina almost cried out with pain, so repul-
sive did that name and proposal strike her and
after a moment she arose from her chair and
said in a determined voice: "No! I will not
go to Kotlicki . . . and that which you have
proposed to me is insulting and outrageous!
Only in the theater can people lose so entirely
their moral sense as to persuade others to base
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The Comedienne 389
acts and ptirposely push them into the mire
of degradation, so that they themselves may
profit. You have miscalculated this time, my
dear sir! I have not fallen so low as that.
What hurts me is that you could think even
for a moment that I would agree to go to
Kotlicki, to Kotlicki, who is more repulsive
to me than the basest reptile!" she cried, car-
ried away by passion.
'* Miss Janina! Let us speak it over calmly
and sensibly, without getting excited."
''You dare to tell me not to get excited?"
"I must, for you are simply inexperienced;
consequently that which I ask of you appears
to you as something monstrous, something
that will immediately sink you in the mud,
dishonor you, and shame you."
''For God's sake, what is it then, if not just
that!" Janina cried in amazement.
"Let us stop playing a comedy, let us drop
this game of hide-and-seek and look at things
as they are and we shall see that I am not pro-
posing anything out of the ordinary to you.
What am I asking of you? Merely that you
go to Kotlicki for the money which is to be the
foundation of our common future, the money
which will create otir theater for us and with-
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390 The Comedienne
out which none of us can budge from Warsaw.
So what is there wrong in this? What wrong
can there be in that which will make almost all
of us happy?"
"What? Is it possible that you do not see
any wrong in the fact that I, a woman should
go alone to the home of a man? And for what
will he give me that one thousand or two thou-
sand rubles?"
"When you lived with Glogowski no one
regarded it as wrong. Now, when you are
Jiving with Wladek who blames you for it?
After all, what is there so dreadfully dishonor-
able about it? We all live that way; and are
we thereby committing anything base? . . .
No! for that is a secondary thing, for we have
something more important in our minds:
art!"
"No, I will not go!" answered Janina
quietly, depressed by the discovery that they
all knew about her relation with Wladek.
She continued to listen to Topolski without
hearing or imderstanding his words. He
began to expostulate with her, to beg, and to
explain that they were all sacrificing their very
lives for the theater, something more than the
mere whim of a woman. He pointed out to
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The Comedienne 391
her that by her refusal she would deal a mortal
blow to the newly organized company; that
they were all counting on her and would be
grateful to her until death, for by her sacrifice
she would insure the welfare of dozens of people ;
that the new theater would be connected with
her name. He wished by all means to break
down her opposition which he could not
imderstand, but Janina remained unmoved.
" If my life itself depended on it, I would not
go; I would prefer to die!" said Janina with
final determination.
"Well then, good-bye!" answered Topolski
angrily.
Janina kept looking at him and still wanted
to explain herself more fully, but Majkowska
threw her cloak over her shoulders for her,
brutally placed her hat on her head, and
showering her with insults, opened the door
widely before her.
Janina like an automaton, permitted her
to do what she wanted with her and, like an
automaton she walked down the stairs and
along the streets to her home.
She felt sorry for the new company and
regretted the prospect that she was losing by
breaking with Topolski but at the same time
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she felt an unbearable shame consuming her at
the thought that these people should take her
for such, a degraded being by daring to make
such proposals to her and expecting that she
would fulfill them.
Janina could not calm herself. That night
she dreamed now of Kotlicki, now of Wladek,
then again of the theater. She heard how all
were ctirsing and reviling her, she saw as it
were, a band of people covered with rags and
with hatred glowing in their eyes, pursuing her
with curses and trying to beat her. In those
vaguely outlined faces she recognized Mela,
Topolski, Mimi, and Wawrzecki. Again, she
dreamed that she was walking along the street
and that everybody was staring at her so
strangely and so horribly that she felt like
sinking into the earth to avoid their glances;
but she had no strength to move and that
multitude slowly filed by her while Topolski
stood pointing at her and crying in a loud and
derisive voice : " Behold ! she lived with Glogow-
ski and is now the mistress of Wladek ! "
Janina could not bear that; she screamed
wildly in her sleep for she saw, as it were, her
father approaching her with Krenska at his
side, pointing at her and calling: "She lived
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The Comedienne 393
with Glogowski and now is the mistress of
Wladek!"
''God, oh God!" she moaned, writhing with
the tonnent of that dream.
And the throng of familiar faces continued
to grow. There appeared the priest from
Btikowiec, the teachers of her boarding school,
her former companions and Grzesikiewicz.
All, all passed by her hastily and stared at her
with such a dreadful, horrible smile that it
pierced her like a dagger and scourged her like
a whip.
Janina awoke with tear-streaming eyes and
utterly exhausted.
Before the rehearsal Wladek came to see
her. For the first time she threw herself into
his arms of her own accord.
''They all know!'* she whispered, hiding
her face upon his breast.
Wladek immediately surmised what she
meant and answered : ' ' Well, what of it? Is it
a crime?"
He sat down in an ill htimor, began to rub
his knee and tossed about angrily in his chair.
Janina noticed his mood and, forgetting
about herself, inquired: "What is the matter
with you? Are you ill? "
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*' There is nothing the matter with me, only
I owe someone a few rubles and am tmable to
pay them back. I can't ask my mother for
the money, for she is sick again and it would
only finish her! Cabinski will not give it to
me either, and I am at my wit's end!"
He was, of course, lying, for he had been
playing cards the whole night long and had
lost all he had. Janina remembered the help
she had received from Glogowski, so without
hesitation she took off her gold watch and
chain and laid it before Wladek.
'' I have no money. Take this and pawn it
and pay yotir debt and what you have left over
bring me back, for I also have nothing," she
said heartily.
''No, I shall not take it! What do you
want to do that for? I really don't need it.
. . . My dear child! . . ." remonstrated Wla-
dek in his first impulse of honesty.
''Please take it. . . . If you love me you
will take it."
Wladek demurred a little while yet, but the
thought struck him that with the money he
might play again to win back what he had lost.
"No! What would that look like!" he
whispered, his resistance growing ever weaker.
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The Comedienne 395
"Go right away and on your way back stop
in for me and we shall have breakfast
together," urged Janina.
Wladek kissed her, as though he were em-
barrassed, muttered something about grati-
tude, but finally took the watch and went to
pawn it.
He returned quickly with thirty rubles. He
immediately borrowed twenty from Janina and
wanted even to give her a receipt for them,
but she became so angry that he had to apolo-
gize to her. Then they went out to breakfast.
Thenceforward they lived together. At the
theater everyone knew about their relation,
but it was such a usual thing, that no one paid
attention toit. Onl^Sowinskawouldsometimes
tatmt Janina on the score and slight her and,
whereas not so long ago she had done nothing
but praise Wladek, she now told the vilest
sort of tales about him. She delighted in tor- '
menting Janinainthismanner, and avenged her- v
self in this way for the loss of her son's love. j
At last it was announced that stage rehear- -'
sals of Doctor Robin were to begin. Wladek
brought this information to Janina, because
for a few days she had been very weak and had
not left her home at all. She felt an oppres-
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sive drowsiness and exhaustion and an unbear-
able pain in her back. Then again such a
feeling of helplessness and discouragement
would possess her that she wanted to cry and
had no desire to stir from her bed, but lay for
whole days, gazing blankly at the ceiling.
The humming sensation in her head returned
and she suffered such a burning thirst that
nothing could quench it. However, on hear-
ing that she was to take part in the play,
Janina immediately felt well and strong again.
She went to the rehearsal, trembling with
fear, but on seeing the person who was to
play ''Garrick," she quickly mastered herself.
This amatetir was hardly more than a boy,
skinny, awkward, and simple-minded. He
lisped and waddled about like a duck, but since
he was the cousin of one of the influential
journalists who backed him, he regarded
everybody at the theater with a haughty
expression and treated them with an air of
condescension. The members of the com-
pany delicately ridiculed him to his face and
laughed loudly at him behind his back.
Everybody was present at the rehearsal, as
though they had all agreed upon it beforehand.
No sooner did Janina enter upon the stage
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than MajkoWska ostentatiously withdrew
behind the scenes, while Topolski did not so
much as nod his head to her in greeting. Ja-
nina realized that relations with them were
severed for good, but she had no time to think
about it, for the rehearsal began immediately.
Despite the fact that she had at first intended
merely to recite her r61e, Janina could not now
refrain from marking it, at least in its broad
outlines.
She was irritated by the fact that everyone
was looking at her and that from all directions
nimierous eyes were fixed upon her. It
seemed to her that she saw ridicule in their
glances and derision on all those lips, so at
moments she would start nervously and break
out wi£h all the force of her temperament, or
again, she would speak too softly.
Majkowska stood there hissing and laughing
together with Zamecka and loudly voicing her
opinion of Janina's acting. Topolski, the stage-
manager, made her leave and reenter the
stage several times, for in her excitement, she
did not enter properly.
Janina knew what they were doing, so she
did not take very much to heart Mela's ridi-
cule or Topolski's pedantic instructions. She
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played on and rendered her r61e forcibly, if a
little tmevenly.
There followed a characteristic silence;
nobody laughed nor jested loudly .
The stage-director walked up and down
behind the scenes contentedly rubbing his
hands and grunting: ''Good, good, but she
does not yet put enough pathos into it!"
''Why, don't you hear she is already shout-
ing, not speaking!" Majkowska jeered at him.
"My dear madame! You go into convul-
sions on the stage, and none of us, out of
politeness, blames you for it," answered
Stanislawski for his friend.
"Not that way! Who waves his arms in
that manner? Are you trying to make a
windmill of yourself?" cried Topolski. '
"Don't discourage her, remember it is her
first rehearsal ! " cried Cabinska from the seats.
' ' You walk about the stage like a goose ! * ' again
remarked the irritated Topolski to Janina.
"She wouldn't be at all bad as a washer-
woman!" hissed Mela.
In spite of all, although she felt tears of
wrath rising to her eyes, Janina played on,
without letting herself be confused and never
for a moment losing her presence of mind.
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The Comedienne 399
When she had finished, Cabinska ostenta-
tiously kissed her and began to praise her
aloud so that Majkowska could hear: ''I
congratulate you and have no doubt that you
will play the part excellently!"
*'Work out the details a little better,"
Stanislawski advised her.
' ' Why, this is merely a rehearsal ! I already
have the entire character worked out in my
head."
"We shall now have a real heroine, for one
that is beautiful and talented at the same
time!" cried Rosinska in a very loud voice.
Majkowska glared at her furiously, but did
not reply.
Janina felt so happy that she had a desire to
kiss everybody.
In two days the performance was to take
place. That interval was like one immense
vista of light in which Janina seemed eagerly
absorbed. It seemed to her that she was
entirely satisfied.
"At last! At last! Now, all my poverty
and htimiliation will end!" Janina whispered
rapturously to herself. She thought that a
repertory of r61es would immediately be
assigned to her. She gave free reign to her
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imagination and already saw herself upon
some pinnacle. She was already in that
promised land of powerful emotions about
which she dreamed every day — ^in that realm
that swarmed before her eyes with a stately
throng of heroic figures, superhuman passions,
and dazzling beauty, a realm in which there
reigned a perfect harmony between dreams
and reality.
Janina smiled with pity at those days of
want and poverty, as though she were bidding
farewell to them forever. Everything that
surrotmded her, even Wladek, paled into
insignificance before her fascinated eyes.
A thousand times she repeated the r61e of
*'Mary." She sat for hours at a time before
the mirror, practicing the appropriate facial
expression and became feverish with impa-
tience while awaiting the arrival of the mo-
mentous day. At night, Janina would sit half
asleep in her bed and gaze before her. It
seemed to her that she saw the crowded
theater and the representatives of the press,
that she heard the quiet murmtirs of the pub-
lic, saw their enraptured glances, and that she
entered the stage and played. . . . Half
imconsciously she would repeat the words of
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The Comedienne 401
her r61e, kindle with ardor, declaim them with
exaltation. Then, overcome by drowsiness
again, she would smile through tears of happi-
ness for she heard most distinctly that well-
known and thrilling thtmder of applause and
cries of : ' ' Orlowska ! Orlowska ! ' ' And with
that smile on her face she would fall asleep
and wake again to continue her dreams.
Janina sold whatever she could to buy the
appropriate costume for her part. With a
smile of contentment she would drive away
Wladek so that he might not interfere with her.
On that day which was to be for her so
important and decisive, Cabinski, before the
general rehearsal, took away her part and gave
it to Majkowska.
Intrigue and envy had gained their end.
Cabinski was forced to yield, for Topolski
had threatened to leave the company immedi-
ately unless he took away the r61e from Janina
and gave it to Majkowska. It was the way he
chose to avenge himself because of Janina's
refusal to go to Kotlicki.
Struck to the very heart, Janina almost lost
her reason tmder this blow. She began to
stagger on her feet and felt that the whole
theater was whirling about her and that every-
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thing was sinking with her into a bottomless
darkness. She cast a glance of tinspeakable
grief at all those about her, as though seeking
for help, but on the faces of most of the mem-
bers of the company there was an expression
of merriment over what they thought was a
splendid joke, and the beastly joy of cretins
at the suppression of talent. They mocked
the defeated aspirant with their glances; burn-
ing tatmts and jibes began to fall from all
sides like stones upon her soul crushed by
an imexpected blow. Brutal laughs arose,
scourging her as with a whip and all the base-
ness of himian delight in the pain of others
fotmd its object and outlet.
And Janina stood there without a word or
motion, with that dreadful pain in her heart
in which it seemed as though all the arteries
had been torn open and were flooding it with
the blood of despair.
She collected enough strength to ask: "Why
may I not play the part?"
"Because you may not and that settles it!"
answered Cabinski curtly. And he immedi-
ately left the theater, because he dreaded a
scene and felt a trifle sorry for Janina.
She remained standing behind the scenes
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The Comedienne 403
with that overwhehning and sharp pain of
disappointment tearing at her soul. She felt
such an emptiness and loneliness that at
moments it seemed to her as though she were
all alone in the world and that something had
pinned her to the earth with an immense
weight and was crushing her down, that she
was falling with lightning speed to the bottom
of some deep abyss where a grayish-green
whirlpool was dimly roaring.
Her thoughts and feelings were breaking
and snapping tmder the tremendous strain
and tears of hopeless abandonment flooded
her eyes. She went to the dressing-room
and sat down in the darkest comer.
Her dreams were crumbling to pieces: those
wonderful realms were vanishing and sinking
away in the misty distance, those enchanting
visions were waving like torn rags in her brain
and soul.
The dull grajmess of the dirty walls and
decorations about her and the throng of
shabby, jeering beggars seemed to saturate and
oppress her whole being. She felt so utterly
weary, broken, sick, and helpless that she went
out into the hall to look for Wladek to take her
home, but she could not find him. He had
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cautiously disappeared, so Janina went back
to the dressing-room and sat there in a
daze.
''Beware of dreams! Beware of water!"
she repeated to herself, remembering with
difficulty who had told her that. And sud-
denly, Janina became pale and reeled back for
such a chaos began to whirl in her brain that
she thought she would go mad. . . .
For a long time she sat in a senseless torpor
and wept without being able to restrain her-
self, for after partly regaining her conscious-
ness the memory of all her sufferings and dis-
appointments came back to her again. At
last utterly worn out, and, lulled by the silence
that enveloped the theater after the rehearsal,
she fell asleep.
She was awakened by Rosinska who on that
day had come earlier to the dressing-room, for
she was to begin the play. When she saw
the sleeping girl, the older actress was moved
to pity. The remaining shreds of her woman-
hood covered by the artificiality of theatrical
life, awoke in her at the sight of that pale face,
worn by poverty and dejection.
"Miss Janina — " whispered Rosinska
tenderly.
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The Comedienne 405
Janina arose and began nervously to wipe
away the traces of tears from her face.
''Have you not seen Mr. Niedzielski?" she
. asked Rosinska.
''No. My poor child, so that is what they
have done to you! — But you must not take it
so much to heart. If ypu want to be an
artist you must bear a great deal, suffer a
great deal. My dear, if you only knew what
I had to go through and still have to. If you
wanted to grieve over all the afflictions that
come to you, become irritated over all the
gossip they spread about you or weep over
every intrigue in which they try to entangle
you, you would have neither any tears, nor
eyes, nor strength left! There's no use crying
over it, for things can't be any different in the
theater! Moreover, you haven't lost any-
thing by it! That one disappointment makes
you richer by one more experience."
"Perhaps they are right, after all. I must
have no talent whatever, if Cabinski took
away the r61e from me. ..."
"It is just because you have a talent that
they played this trick on you. I heard what
the cousin of that amateur said at the first
rehearsal."
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4o6 The Comedienne
"What good will all that do me, when I
can't play and have nothing to live on."
''That is all the doing of Majkowska. She
forced Cabinski to take the r61e away from
you."
" I know she bears me a grudge, but I can't
conceive why she should revenge herself in
such an inhimian way!"
''You don't know her yet. ... I don't
know what you two quarreled about, but I do
know that when she saw you on the stage at
the first rehearsal she became so greatly
afraid that you might eclipse her that she
immediately began to lay plans for your
tmdoing. I saw how she himg about that
amateur, how she fawned upon his cousin and
Cabinski, how she kissed the hands of the
directress! I saw with my own eyes! Did
you ever hear of anyone degrading one's self
in that manner? But she attained her end.
She has already done away with many another
in the same way. You probably do not know
what I, an actress of long standing and with
so large a repertory, have to suffer on her
account. You could not notice what was being
schemed, for it was all done so quickly that
besides myself, probably no one else knew
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The Comedienne 407
about it. Such a creature as she always has
luck! But wait I will fix her to-day! I'll
pay her back for the both of us! "
The dressing-room slowly began to fill with
actresses, their noisy chatter and the smell
of powder and pigments that were being
warmed over the candles. They were begin-
ning to dress.
At last Majkowska came in, stately and
triimiphant, with a bouquet in her hands and
roses in her corsage. Seeing Janina sitting
alongside of Rosinska she frowned and cried
angrily: ''If I am not mistaken, this is not the
dressing-room of the chorus girls."
''You are mistaken, you pantomime artist ! "
retorted Rosinska.
"I am not speaking to you."
"But I am answering you. Please stay
here," she said, turning to Janina who wanted
to leave.
"Don't you begin with me! Do you think
I'm going to dress together with novices,
eh?"
"Wait, you'll get a separate cell with a
strait-jacket of your own. You can't miss it. ' '
"Shut your mouth! You forty-year-old
simp."
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"My age is none of yotir business, you
ruined heroine!"
"She looks like a drenched hen on the stage
and yet dares to raise her voice here."
Everybody in the dressing-room was shak-
ing with laughter, while Rosinska and Maj-
kowska began to quarrel ever more vulgarly,
without however interrupting for a moment
their make-up and hasty dressing.
Janina listened to the quarrel in silence.
She hardly felt any grievance toward Maj-
kowska for depriving her of the r61e, but only
a physical aversion to her person. Majkow-
ska now appeared to her so filthy, brazen, and
base that even her voice soimded disgusting.
Only when they began to play Doctor Robin,
Janina stood behind the scenes to see what
would be done with her r61e. It is impossible
to describe that subtle, excruciating pain that
rent her soul when she saw Majkowska as
"Mary" on the stage. She felt that that
other woman was tearing out piecemeal from
her brain and heart every word, every gesture,
every pose and accent.
"They are mine, mine!" she breathed,
tmable to help herself. "Mine!" And she
devoured Mela with her eyes and then closed
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The Comedienne 409
them so that she might not behold any more
of it, nor torment herself with remembering
the r61e as she had conceived it. *'The
thief!" she finally whispered so loudly that
Majkowska trembled on the stage.
Rosinska sat behind the scenes on the other
side of the stage. As soon as Majkowska
entered there began a scene upon the stage for
she repeated each word after Mela in an under-
tone and in a false intonation, laughed aloud
at her acting, ridiculed and mimicked her
gestures.
At first Majkowska paid no attention to
this, but finally she could no longer refrain
from looking behind the scenes and could not
help hearing that raillery and mimicry of
herself. She could not catch the prompter's
words and stopped short in the middle of a
sentence, while Rosinska continued to crowd
her ever more mercilessly.
Majkowska grew furious with impotent
rage, but her playing was becoming worse all
the time and she felt it, and began to throw
herself about the stage as though she were
obsessed. Behind every scene she saw faces
laughing at her; even Dobek in his box stopped
his mouth with his hand so heartily amused
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410 The Comedienne
was he by what was going on. That deprived
Majkowksa of the rest of her self-control.
As soon as she left the stage she threw her-
self at Rosinska with her fists. There arose
such a rumpus that the men had to part the
two actresses, for they had begun pulling the
hair out of each other's wigs. Majkowska
was forcibly led to the dressing-room. She
raged like a mad woman and got an attack of
hysteria. She smashed mirrors, tore up cos-
tumes, and tossed about so violently that they
had to call a doctor and tie her hands and
feet.
Cabinska pulled out the rest of his hair in
despair, but the actors laughed in their dress-
ing-rooms and enjoyed themselves immensely.
The curtain had to be lowered in the middle
of the play, and Topolski, almost pale with
anger announced to the audience: ''Ladies and
Gentlemen! Because of the sudden and seri-
ous indisposition of Miss Majkowska, Doctor
Robin cannot be concluded. The following
play on the program will immediately begin."
Janina despite the satisfaction that she felt
at the fiasco of her enemy, began to feel sorry
for Majkowska when she saw her senseless
and suffering. She was not yet enough of an
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The Comedienne 411
actress to feel indifferent to it, sc she went
to her, but seeing in the room the doctor, and
Cabinski, who was quarreling with Rosinska
she hastily retreated.
Rosinska, Wolska, and Mirowska declared
outright to Cabinski that if Majkowska
remained in the company they would leave it
the very next day.
Cabinski fled, but he next ran into Stanis-
lawski and Krzykiewicz who told him the
same with the addition that they would not
remain a day longer with him for they were
ashamed to be in a company where such public
scandals occurred.
The director almost went crazy, for he was
not prepared for such a thing. He tried to
squirm out of it as best as he could, made
promises, gave orders on the treasurer to all
who wanted them and, spying Janina called
aloud to her with the object of mollifying
somewhat his previous conduct: "If you want
something from the treasurer, I will give you
an order, for I must leave right away."
Janina asked for five rubles. He did not
even so much as make a wry face but gave it to
her and immediately ran off to Pepa, but on
the way he was again tackled by that amateur
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412 The Comedienne
and his cousin and things began to grow so
noisy behind the scenes that the public lis-
tened uneasily, wondering what was the matter.
The performance was concluded amid the
silence of the audience; not one handclap
soimded.
Janina, on leaving the box office with the
money, met Niedzielska hobbling slowly
along.
She stopped and wanted to greet her, but
Niedzielska looked at her threateningly and
barked: ''What do you want, you! you!"
She coughed violently, threatened Janina with
her cane with which she supported herself, and
dragged herself on.
Janina imconsciously looked about her, to
see if she could spy Wladek anywhere, but he
had already vanished. She had not seen him
since that morning.
Wladek purposely avoided her, for he had
reached the decisive conclusion that it was
better to have intercourse only with ordinary
women, for with them it was not necessary to
restrain one's self, to pretend, and to be
continually forced to take everything into
accoimt. Moreover, Janina had made a fiasco
as an actress and continued to be nothing bu
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a chorus girl, and his mother had threatened
to disinherit him because of her.
Janina gazed for a long time after the old
woman, who, no doubt, was going to seek her
son, and then she went slowly home.
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CHAPTER X
Janina lay sick in bed.
It seemed to her as though she were at the
bottom of a well and, from those depths into
which they had shoved her she could see only
the pale, distant blue of the sky, sometimes
complete darkness, sometimes the twinkling
of the stars, then again some wings, flying
past, would cast a shadow over her eyes so
that she lost knowledge of everything. She
only felt that those eddies of life without,
its voices, noises, cries, fears, and despair
oozed down the smooth sides of the well and
flowed into her soul as into a reservoir, pene-
trating her whole soul with an unconscious
pain which she, however, felt with every
fiber of her being.
The days dragged on as slowly as though
they were strung on the chain of ages, as
slowly as they drag on for those who have lost
everything, even hope.
Janina sent word to the director that she
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The Comedienne 4^5
was sick, but no one came to see her. Cabin-
ska merely sent Wicek to say that Yadzia was
longing for her piano lessons, and nothing
more.
There, they were playing, learning, creating
something and living! Here, she lay simken
in a complete apathy, like a crushed soul that
hardly dares at moments to think that it still
exists and then again sinks into an agony
which cannot, however, end in the oblivion of
death.
Janina was not really physically ill, for
nothing pained her, but was dying from inner
exhaustion. It seemed to her as though she
had spent the whole store of her strength in
those three months of theatrical life and that
she was now dying from the htmger of her soul
that had nothing left with which to keep it
alive.
Throughout those long days, throughout
that endless agony of silent nights she slowly
pondered the nature of everyone whom she
had met here; and that slow, but entirely one-
sided, cognizance of her environment filled her
with bitter sadness.
''There is no happiness on earth ..."
Janina whispered to herself, and it seemed to
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4^6 The Comedienne
her that hitherto she had had a cataract blind-
ing her eyes which fate had now brutally torn
off. She now saw, but there were moments in
which she yearned for her former blindness and
groping in the dark*
''There is no happiness!" she repeated
bitterly, and rebellious pessimism mastered
her soul entirely*
Everywhere Janina saw only evil and base-
ness. There passed before her the forms of all
her acquaintances and she scornfully thrust
them all down into one pit, not excluding
Wladek. He had dropped in only once to see
her and began to excuse himself for his
absence, but she impatiently interrupted him
and asked him to go away.
She already knew him well enough and
wondered as the thought occurred to her that
she had ever loved him.
"Why? Why? " Janina asked herself.
Shame and regret began to fill her at the
thought that she had fallen so low and for
him. He now appeared to her miserable and
common. She could not forgive herself.
"What fatality placed him in my path of
life?" Janina asked herself further. In her
own eyes she felt deeply humiUated.
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The Comedienne 4^7
"I did not love him," she pondered and a
shudder of disgust shook her. He began to
grow hateful to her.
And the theater also, lost a great deal of its
glamor for Janina in those hours of reflection.
She now looked at it through the prism of
those continual quarrels and behind-the-scenes
intrigues, through the vanity of its priests and
through her own disappointments.
"It is not as I used to see it formerly! " she
lamented.
Everjrthing became increasingly smaller and
grayer to Janina's inner vision. Everjrwhere
she began to discover rags, sham, and false-
hood. People obscured everything for her
with their baseness and pettiness. She no
longer desired to reign as a queen upon the
stage.
''What is that? What is that?" she whis-
pered to herself and saw a motley, heterogene-
ous public that was indifferent to the quality
of a play. It came to the theater to amuse
itself and laugh; it hankered for clownishness
and the circus.
"What is that? Comedianism for profit
and for the amusement of the multitude,"
Janina answered herself. The stage now
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appeared to her as a real arena for the feats of
clowns and trained monkeys.
*'I wanted to be an entertainer of the mob!
And where does art come in? What is pure
art, the ideal, for which himdreds of people
sacrifice their lives?
''What is it and where is it to be found?"
she asked herself uneasily, beginning to see
that everything is rather an amusement than
an aim in itself.
Literature, poetry, music, painting, and all
the fine arts passed before Janina's mind.
She could not separate their utilitarian aspect
from their purely artistic one. She saw that
all artists played, sang, and created only to
amuse that vast, brutal, mob. For it they
sacrificed their lives, their strength, and their
dreams; for it they struggled and suffered,
lived and died.
To Janina that vast multitude of Grze-
sikiewiczs, Kotlickis, and cotmselors, appeared
in its ignorance and low instincts like a cruel
master who, with a half -mocking, half -favor-
ing smile, looked down upon that entire human
throng of artists that painted, played, recited,
created, and begged with a nervous look for his
favor and recognition.
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The Comedienne 419
And she saw one immense wave of htiman
beings spreading over the wide plains of earth,
/ swaying slowly and going nowhere ; and on the
other side all those artists who were passing
through the mob in all directions, loudly pro-
claiming something, singing with inspired
voices, pointing to the expanse of heaven,
calling attention to the stars, trying to bring
about some order in this disorderly, teeming
multitude, opening paths among it, imploring
it in deep tones. But the multitude either
laughed or merely nodded its assent, but
did not budge from its place. It surged
and pushed about and trampled the artists
imderfoot.
''What is that? Why?" Janina asked her-
self, greatly terrified. *'If they do not need
,us then we ought to let them alone, keeping
ourselves apart from them and living only for
ourselves and with ourselves." But again
everything became confused in her mind and
she could not conceive how it would be
possible to live apart from the rest of hirnian-
ity and concluded that it would not be worth
living at all in that way. Her thoughts
whirled in confusion through her brain.
Sowinska, who now took care of her with
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420 The Comedienne
motherly solicitude, came in and interrupted
her frenzied thoughts.
''Why don't you go home?" she advised
Janina sincerely.
''Never!" answered Janina.
"Why shotild you wear yourself out in that
way? You will rest a little, gain new strength,
and return again to the theater."
"No," answered Janina quietly.
"I forgot to tell you that old Mrs. Nied-
zielska was here to see me yesterday."
"Do you know her?" asked the yoimger
woman.
" Not at all, but she had some business with
me. Oh, she is a sly fox, that old hag!"
added Sowinska.
"Perhaps she is a bit too miserly, but
otherwise she is a rather honest woman."
"Honest? You'll find out yet for yourself
how honest she is."
"Why?" asked Janina, but without curios-
ity, for it didn't at all interest her now.
"I will only say this much . . . that she
does not love you in the least, not in the
least!"
"That's strange, for I never did her any
wrong," answered Janina.
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The Comedienne 421
Sowinska's demeanor suddenly changed, for
she glanced angrily at Janina and wanted
to say something sharp, but seeing that
Janina's face wore an expression of complete
indifference, she refrained and left the room.
Janina thought about Bukowiec.
''I have no home,'' she thought, even with-
out bitterness. *' The whole wide world is my
home," she added, but suddenly remembered
what Grzesikiewicz had told her about her
father and stirred as though some hidden pain
had awakened in her. An tmeasiness, not
such as besets one on the eve of some event,
but such as one feels on remembering some
good that one has lost forever, filled Janina's
heart. It was the pain of the past like the
quiet remembrance of the dead.
But those memories of Bukowiec and those
lonely nights when she dreamed, forgetting
about ever5rthing, and created for herself such
wondrous worlds, now flashed upon her mind
in all their vividness. Only the memory of
that exuberant and majestic nature, those vast
fields, and those silent glens full of murmurs
and bird songs, verdure, and wild grandeur
swathed Janina in melancholy and lulled her
weary soul with its charms.
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422 The Comedienne
The woods in which she was reared, those
dim depths full of iinspeakable wonders, those
gigantic trees to which she was united by a
thousand affinities, outlined themselves in her
mind ever more powerfully. Janina longed
for them now and listened through the nights,
for it seemed to her that she heard the grave
autimmal murmur of the forest, the somnolent
rustling of its branches. It seemed that she
felt within herself the slow, endless swaying
of those giant trees, the soft motions of the
verdure bathed in golden sunlight, the joyous
cry of the birds, the fragrance of the young
pine saplings and juniper bushes — the whole
leisurely life of nature.
Janina lay for whole hours at a time, without
a word, thought, or motion, for her soul was
there in those verdant woods. She wandered
over the meadows covered with wild rasp-
berries and waving grass, strayed across the
fields where the rye grew high like a wood,
swaying and murmuring in the breeze and
gleaming with dew in the simlight, penetrated
the groves full of the pimgent smell of the
resin. She followed each road, each boimd-
ary, each wood path, greeted everything that
lived there and cried out to the fields, woods.
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The Comedienne 423
the hills, and the sky: *' I have come! I have
come! " smiling as though she had found a lost
happiness.
These invigorating memories restored Ja-
nina's health almost entirely. On the eighth
day she felt strong enough for a walk. She
was longing for the fresh air, the verdure
unsoiled by city dust, the stmlight, and
the vast open spaces. She felt that the city
was stifling her, that here, at every step, she
had to limit her own ego and continually
struggle against all the barriers of custom and
dependence.
Janina passed through the Place of Arms
and, going beyond the Citadel, she walked
along the damp sand dunes to Bielany.
An tmbroken silence enveloped her on all
sides. The stm shone brightly and warmly,
but from the water there blew a brisk, invigor-
ating breeze.
She gazed at the quiet river flecked with
spots of white foam and at the indistinct silhou-
ettes of boats trailing along in midstream. She
breathed in deeply the calm that surroimded
her and felt a resurgence of her wasted strength.
Janina lay down upon the yellowish sand of
the bank and, gazing at the gleaming expanse
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of waters, forgot everything. It seemed to
her as though she were flowing on with the
ctirrent of the river, passing the shores, houses,
and ^oods and hunying on continually into a
blue and boundless distance like the illimit-
able expanse of heaven that hung over her.
It seemed to her as though she no longer
remembered an)rthing, but felt only the
ineffable delight of rocking with the waves.
Janina suddenly awoke from that half
dream, for there passed near her an old man
with a fishing rod in his hand. He looked at
her in passing, sat down almost beside her on
the very edge of the river, cast his line into the
water and waited.
He had so honest a face that she felt a desire
to speak to him and was thinking how to
begin, when he addressed her first: ''Would
you like to take a trip over to the other side? "
Janina glanced at him questiongly.
''Aha! I see that we don't understand
each other. I thought that you wanted to
drown yourself," he said.
"I wasn't even thinking about death," she
replied quietly.
* ' Ha ! ha ! It wotild be an unexpected honor
for the river,"
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The Comedienne 425
He adjusted his fishing tackle and became
silent, centering all his attention on the fish
that had begun to circle about the bait and
the hook.
A deeper silence, as it were, diffused itself
about and began to fill Janina's soul with a
blissful calm. She felt that an immense
goodness was pervading her, that the majesty
of that expanse of heaven, of the waters and
the verdure was uplifting her and drawing
from her breast a hymn of thanksgiving and
the pure joy of living, free from all earthly
things.
The old man cast a sidelong glance at her
and on his narrow lips there hovered an
unfathomable smile.
Janina felt that look and in turn glanced at
him. Their eyes met in a long and friendly
gaze.
She felt a sudden and irresistible imptilse to
reveal the depths of her soul to him.
She moved closer to him and said quietly:
''I was not thinking about death."
''Then you were seeking calm?"
*' Yes, I wanted to take a look at nature and
to forget."
''Forget about what?"
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4^6 The Com&iienne
''About life!" Janina whispered hoarsely
and tears of violent grief filled her eyes.
"You are a child. It must have been some
disappointment in love, some thwarted ambi-
tion, or perhaps the lack of a dinner that put
you in such a tragic mood."
*'A11 that taken together is not enough to
make one feel very, very unhappy," answered
Janina.
''All that taken together is one big zero, for
according to my way of thinking there is
nothing that can make wholly unhappy an
individual who knows himself," he said.
"Who are you . . . that is, what do you
do?" he asked, after pausing a while.
"I am in the theater," answered the girl.
"Aha! the world of comedy! Simulation
which you afterwards take for reality.
Chimeras! All that warps the himtian soul.
The greatest actors are merely phonographs
wound up sometimes by sages, sometimes by
geniuses, but most often by fools. And they
speak to even greater fools. Actors, artists,
creators are merely blind instruments of
nature which uses them to reveal itself and
for ends known to itself alone! To them it
seems that they are something real, but that is
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The Comedienne 427
a sad deception, for they are merely instru-
ments which are thrown into the discard when
they are no longer needed or have lost their
usefulness."
''Who are you?" Janina asked, almost
tmknowingly, stirred by his words.
''An old man as you see, who fishes and
likes to chat. Oh yes, I am very old. I come
here for a few hours every day in the stmimer-
time, if the weather is fair, and catch fish, if
they let themselves be caught. What good
will it do you to know who I am? My name
will tell you nothing. In the stim total of
himianity I am merely a pawn which is given
a certain ntimber upon entrance into this
world and retains the same at the time of its
exit. I am a cell of feeling long ago registered
and classified by my fellow-beings as a 'ne'er-
do-well,' " he said, smiling.
" I had no intention of offending you by my
question."
"I never get angry about anything. Only
foolish people anger themselves or rejoice. A
man ought merely to look on, observe, and go
his own way," he added, drawing a gudgeon
from his hook.
Janina was a bit chilled by his gravity and
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4^8 The Comedienne
by his decisive way of speaking which
admitted of no discussion.
''Are you from the Warsaw Theater?" he
asked, throwing out his line again.
•'No, I am in Cabinski's company. No
doubt you know him.'*
"I don't know him, nor have I heard about
him."
"Is it possible that you have never heard
an)rthing about Cabinski, nor read about the
Tivoli?" asked Janina greatly surprised that
there could be anyone in Warsaw who did not
know and was not interested in the theater.
"I do not go to the theater at all and I do
not read the papers," he answered.
"Impossible!;'
"One can see right away that you must not
be more than twenty years old, for you cry out
in amazement, 'Impossible!' and look at me as
though I were a limatic or a barbarian."
•' But after talking with you, it was impossi-
ble for me to assimie even for a moment
that . . ."
"That I am not interested in the theater,
yes, that I do not read the papers," he con-
cluded for her.
"I can't even understand why."
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The Comedienne 429
''Well, because that does not interest me at
all," he answered simply.
''Are you not at all interested in what is
going on in the world, in how people are living,
what they are doing, what they are thinking? "
"No. To you that doubtless appears mon-
strous; nevertheless it is entirely natural. Do
our peasants interest themselves in the theater
or in world affairs? They do not. Isn't that
true?"
"Yes, but they are peasants and that is
entirely different."
"It is the same thing, merely with this
addition ; that for them your famous and great
men do not exist at all and it doesn't make the
slightest difference to them whether Newton or
Shakespeare ever lived or not. And they are
just as well off with their ignorance, just as
well."
Janina became silent, for what he had said
appeared to her paradoxical and not very
true.
"What will I learn from your newspapers
and your theaters? Merely that people love,
hate, and fight one another the same as ever;
that evil and brute force continue to reign as
they always have done; that the world and life
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430 The Comedienne
are merely a big mill in which brains and con-
sciences are ground to dust. It is more com-
fortable to know nothing rather than that," he
continued.
"But is it right for anyone to seclude him-
self so egoistically from all that is going on in
the world?" asked Janina.
''Precisely in that lies wisdom. To desire
nothing for ourselves, care for nothing, and be
indifferent — ^that is what we ought to aim at."
*' Is it possible to attain such a state of com-
plete apathy?"
''It is attained through the experience of
life and through thinking. Remember that
the smallest pleasure, a mere momentary sat-
isfaction, always costs us more dearly than it is
really worth. The average man will not, for
instance, pay a thousand rubles for a pear, for
he knows that would be an insane absurdity,
and moreover, he knows the relative value of
a thousand rubles and of a pear. But out of
the capital of his life he is ready to squander
thousands for mere trifles — ^for a light love
affair that lasts only as long as it takes a two
cent pear to ripen, for he has never considered
the almost priceless value of his own vital
energy and becomes blind to all, like a bull
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The Comedienne 43 ^
when the toreador flashes a red rag before his
eyes, and pays for that blindness with a part of
his life. The majority of human beings die,
not from natural necessity, like a lamp when
its oil has burned out, but from bankruptcy,
from squandering their powers and strength
on foolish things that are worth a thousand
times less than one day of life."
''I would not want to live such a cold and
calculated life without frenzies, dreams, and
love."
"The world would not come to an end, if
people did not love."
*' It would be better to kill one's self than to
live and dry up like a tree."
''Suicide is the vulgar cry of the animal who
suffers; it is the rebellion of the atom against
the laws of the imiverse. One must allow the
candle of one's life to bum out slowly and
calmly to the very end — ^in that lies
happiness,"
''So that is happiness?" asked Janina, feel-
ing a sudden chill penetrating her soul.
"Yes. Peace is happiness. To negate
everything, to kill one's desires and passions,
totearoutof oneself illusions and whims — ^that
is the way to attain it. It means to hold fast
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432 The Comedienne
your soul in the grip of self-knowledge and
prevent it from dissipating itself in foolish
things."
*'Who would want to live under such a
yoke? What soul could endure it?'*
"The soul is knowledge."
"So you advocate nothing but stony in-
difference and peace! Never to know or feel
an)rthing else but this ! No, I prefer the ordi-
nary trend of life."
"There is still another way: the best remedy
for our mental sufferings is to expand our
hearts, to become one with nature."
" Let us drop that. I don't like to speak
about it, for it stirs me too strongly."
They both remained silent for a long while.
The old man gazed into the water and
mumbled something to himself, while Janina
was rapt in thought.
"All is foolishness," he began anew.
"Behold and wonder at the water, if nothing
more; it will suffice you for a long time.
Observe the birds, the stars, and the elements;
trace the growth of the trees, listen to the
wind, drink in perftimes and hues and every-
where you will find unparalleled, everlasting
miracles. It will replace for you entirely life
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The Comedienne 433
among people. Only do not gaze at nature
with the eyes of the vulgar, for then the most
beautiftil bird songs will sound to you like
a mere screeching; the most majestic forest
will seem nothing but so much kindling wood;
in animals you will see nothing but meat for
food; the meadows- will appear to you as so
much hay; for then, instead of feeling, you
will be calculating."
"All himian beings are like that."
"There are a few who can read from the
book of nature and find in it sustenance for
their life."
Again they became silent.
The sun began to sink behind the hills on the
opposite shore and to shine ever more coldly
as though it were burnt out, dyeing the water
blood red with its parting rays. The thickets
seemed to shrink, for they appeared to grow
lower and wider at their bases. ' The yellow-
ish sands on the river bank became shrouded
by the gray dusk. The distant horizon
seemed to sink away in the mists which rose
up as though they were the smoke of the burnt-
out, smoldering sim. An even deeper silence
descended and enveloped the earth in sleep, as
though it were weary of the labors of the day.
38
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434 The Comedienne
Janina pondered over the words of the old
man and a quiet, gloomy sadness filled her
heart and cast a vague and shadowy fear over
her mind. A feeling of passive submission
and torpor overcame her.
She arose to go, for it was already growing
dark.
''Are you going?" she asked the old man.
''Yes, it is already time and it is quite a way
to Warsaw.''
"Then we shall go together."
He put away his fishing tackle in his cane,
deposited the fish in a small can and began to
walk along with Janina at a swift enough pace.
"I do not know your name," he began to
say slowly, "and I'm not at all interested in
that, but I see that you must not be very
happy in life. I am a crazy old man, as my
neighbors call me, and an old mason, as the
town gossips like to add; I'm alone and,
reconciled to my fate, I am awaiting the end.
Some time ago I knew a little of what it means
to suffer and love, but that is past long ago,
long ago," he whispered, gazing as it were, into
a distant past, with a faint smile of remem-
brance on his face. "The greatest boon that
man possesses is his ability to forget, other-
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The Comedienne 435
wise he could not live at all. But all this does
not interest you in the least, does it? I some-
times chatter nonsense, catch myself talking to
myself, and often forget things, for I'm just an
old man, you see. You have an honest-look-
ing face, so I will give you this bit of advice;
whenever you suffer, when everything dis-
appoints you and life becomes tmbearable —
flee from the city, go into the open cotmtry,
breathe in the fresh air, bathe in the stmlight,
gaze at the sky, think about eternity and pray
. . . and you will forget all your troubles.
You will feel better and stronger. The misery"
of the people of to-day arises from their '
estrangement from nature and from God, from
loneliness of the soul. And I will tell you one j
more thing; forgive everything and be merci-
ful to all. People are bad only through their ;
ignorance, therefore you be good. The great- /
est wisdom is in the greatest kindness. I am !
here every day while it is warm. Perhaps
we shall meet again sometime. Good-bye, and
may you be happy." He nodded his head
kindly in farewell.
She gazed a long time after him tmtil he
vanished from her sight near the church of
St. Mary. Janina rubbed her eyes, for it
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436 The Comedienne
seemed to her that this meeting had been
merely a hallucination.
'* No, that cannot be," she whispered to her-
self, for she still felt upon her face the pure
gaze of his peaceful old eyes and heard his
voice saying: ''Be good! Pray! Forgive!"
She repeated the words to herself as she walked
along the street.
"Forgive!" and she saw her father and
afterwards the theater, Cabinski, Majkowska,
Kotlicki, Mme. Anna, and Sowinska and
remembered those days of suffering, abuse,
and insult.
''Be good!" and she saw again Mirowska,
who bore the most painful wrongs with a smile,
who never did anyone any harm, and yet was
the laughing stock of the entire company.
Then, there was Wolska, who at the expense
of her own life saved her child from death and
who was cheated and forced into poverty.
There was Cabinska's nurse sacrificing herself
for a stranger's children. There was, too,
the old stage-director, slighted by everybody;
there were the peasants in the cotmtry, treated
like animals, and the exploited workmen in
the cities. There were all the swindles,
cheatings, and crimes which were going
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The Comedienne 437
on continually. Janina fell that something
within her was trembling, breaking, and
aying out in protest; that the suffering of
all himianity was potuing into her soul ; that all
the injustice, all the wrongs, all the suffering
and tears stood before her, and a grave voice
from above was saying: "Be good, forgive,
pray," while roimd about her a jeering laugh-
ter arose, as though in response to it.
She arrived at her home and for a long time
could not calm herself. She pressed her hands
to her head as though trying to still those
timiultuous thoughts that were whirling
through her brain in such confusion that she
could not distinguish truth from falsehood.
For in a moment of clairvoyant vision she had
seen that both the good and the bad suffered
equally, that all were struggling, all were cla-
moring for salvation and protesting against life.
"I shall go mad! I shall go mad!" Janina
whispered to herself.
On the next morning Wladek came to see
her. He seemed to be so good and kissed her
hand so tenderly that she could not help notic-
ing his devotion. He complained about
Cabinski and aired at length his grievances
against his mother.
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438 The Comedienne
Janina regarded him with a cold look, for
she understood almost at once that he wished
to borrow money from her.
''Go and buy me some powder, for I must
go to the theater to-day," she said to him.
Wladek rose eagerly to fulfill her behest.
'* Close the door after you, for I am going to
dress."
He closed the door with the latch to which
he had his own key, and departed. "^
On the street, almost at the very door
Wladek spied the counselor. A sudden idea
flashed through his mind, for he smiled and
cordially approached the old man.
"Good morning, esteemed cotinselor."
''Good morning, how are you feeling, eh?"
"Thank you, I am entirely well, only Miss
Orlowska is ill. The directress has just asked
me to see how she was getting along."
' ' What ? Miss Janina is ill ? They told me
so behind the scenes, but I did not believe it,
for I thought . . ."
"Yes, she is sick. I am just now going for
some medicine."
"Is she dangerously ill?"
' "Oh no, but wotild you like to convince
yourself personally? "
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The Comedienne 439
The cotinselor started violently, but then,
adjusting his glasses, he said: ''Indeed, I
would like to. I wished to do so many times
before, but she is so inaccessible."
''I will smooth the way for you."
''You are joking. How can that be done?
Although, considering my friendly attitude
toward her ..."
"You can see her. Here is the latchkey to
her room. She will receive you; she even told
me that she would be pleased to have her
friends visit her, for she spends entire days all
alone."
"But if . . ."
"Go. If she received me, she will receive
you all the more readily. I will be back in
about an hour and then we can have a chat."
So saying, Wladek left htirriedly.
The counselor wiped his glasses, fidgeted
about nervously, and had not yet made up his
mind whether to enter or not, when Wladek
turned back and called:
' ' My dear counselor ! Lend me four rubles,
will you? I would first have to look for
Cabinski to get the money and the medicine
is needed here right away. I have taken an
unpleasant task upon myself, but what is one
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440 The Comedienne
going to do when companionship demands it?
I will retiim the money to you this evening,
only please don't say anything about this.
And pardon my boldness."
The coimselor willingly reached for his
pocket book and, handing Wladek ten rubles
said: '' I am glad I can help you. If any more
is needed, tell Miss Janina to mention only a
word to me and she can have it."
Wladek went oR with the money, whistling
merrily.
The coimselor entered the house, quietly
opened the door to Janina's apartment, took
off his hat and coat and walked into the room.
Janina was combing her hair and paid no
attention to the opening of the door, for she
thought that Wladek had returned.
The counselor coughed a few times and
approached her with extended hand.
Janina sprang up hastily and threw a scarf
over her naked shoulders.
''Mr. Wladyslaw has just told me that you
were ill, so I thought it wotild be a sin not to
come to see you," said the counselor, speak-
ing rapidly, adjusting his glasses and smiling
a colorless, banal smile.
Janina stared at him in amazement, for a
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The Comedienne 441
moment, but when she felt the touch of his
cold, clammy hand in her own, she grew red
with anger, sprang toward the door so vio-
lently that the scarf fell to the floor, revealing
the stately lines of her shoulders, and opening
the door with an energetic gesture, cried:
'* Leave the room ! "
''But I give you my word of honor that I
hadn't even the slightest intention of offending
you. As a well-wishing friend I came here
merely to offer you my S3anpathy. Mr.
Wladyslaw ..."
''Is a scoimdrel!"
"To that I'll agree, but you needn't get
angry at me and express your indignation in
such a drastic manner; that is a trifle too . . ."
"Please leave the room immediately!"
cried Janina, trembling with anger.
"A com6dienne! A comedienne, upon my
word!" whispered the counselor to himself,
hastily putting on his overcoat, for he was
irritated and offended. He hurried out,
angrily slanmiing the door after him.
" Oh, what a scoundrel ! What a scoimdrel !
and I belong to such a man ... I! They are
jackals, not human beings, jackals! Wher-
ever one turns there is mud and filth!"
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And so great grew Janina's indignation,
that she cried almost aloud through her tears:
' ' Base wretches ! wretches ! wretches ! ' *
Soon afterwards, Wladek returned bringing
with him the powder, a bottle of whisky and
a package of sandwiches. He eyed Janina
curiously and looked about the room.
' ' The coimselor was here ! * * she fltmg at him
harshly.
The actor laughed cynically and exclaimed
in a barroom jargon, *'I cornered him. Now
we can have a little feast."
Janina was about to tell him how base he
was, but suddenly there rang in her ears those
words : V Be good ! Forgive ! ' '
She restrained herself and began to laugh,
but so harshly and so long that she fell upon
the bed and, tossing about on it, began to
repeat amid that dreadful, hysterical laughter:
''Be good! Forgive!"
After a week's intermission there began
again for Janina her former hard life and an
even harder battle, because now it had become
a struggle for mere daily bread.
She sang, as before, in the chorus, dressed
as a chorus girl, peered through the curtain at
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The Comedienne 443
the public, whose attendance at the theater
was decreasing every day, strayed about the
stage and the dressing-rooms during the inter-
missions, and listened to the whispered con-
versations, the music, and the quarrels. But
how different now were her thoughts and her
feelings, how different now and unlike her
former self was Janina!
She no longer sought in the eyes of the
public enthusiasm and love of art, nor did she
cast challenging glances at the front rows of
seats, for poverty had taught her how to esti-
mate from the stage the size of the audience
and from it to draw deductions as to the pro-
portionate size of her salary. Poverty taught
her to take covertly from the storeroom the
bread that was often used on the stage and to
eat it on the way home ; frequently this was her
entire daily sustenance. No one admired her
now, or escorted her home; nor did she con-
tend with anyone about art.
Kotlicki had completely vanished, the coim-
selor was angry at Janina and kept away from
the theater, while Wladek spoke with her only
at times and visited her ever more rarely,
offering as his excuse his mother's growing
weakness and the need of being with her.
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444 The Comedienne
Janina knew that he was lying, but she did not
contradict him, for he was entirely indifferent
to her. She felt a deep contempt for him, but
could not break with him entirely because
there still lingered deep down in her conscious-
ness a memory of the happy hours they had
spent together. She treated him coldly and
did not let him kiss her, but she could not tell
him outright that he was a scoimdrel, for he
was, in a way, the last link imiting her strange
soul with the world.
Janina had grown frightfully thin. Her
complexion became pale and imheaJthy,
and from her enlarged glassy eyes there
looked forth a dreadftil and constant
himger! She walked about the theater like a
shadow, apparently quiet and calm, but with
that feeling of unceasing hunger mercilessly
tearing her within and with despair in her
face.
There were whole days when she had not a
bite of food, when she felt a painful emptiness
in her head and heard only one thing echoing
through her brain: "If I could only get some-
thing to eat! Something to eat!" Aside
from that one desire, everything vanished from
her mind and had no importance.
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The Comedienne 445
A similar poverty existed throughout the
whole company. The women shifted as best
they could, but the men, particularly the more
honest ones, sold everything they possessed,
even their wigs, to save themselves.
With what terror they awaited each eve-
ning! "Are we going to play to-night?'' This
whisper could be heard all over the theater:
in the dressing-rooms, behind the scenes, in
the restatirant-garden where the auttimn wind
frolicked, and on the deserted veranda, where
the waiters, vainly waiting for guests, repeated
it. It was also repeated by Gold, who sat
huddled in his box office, shivering with cold.
An oppressive silence reigned in the
dressing-rooms. The funniest jokes of Glas
could not chase the clouds of worry from the
brows of the actors. They became careless in
their make-up and none of them learned their
rdles, for everybody was waiting in dread
suspense for the performance and every now
and then going to the box office and asking in
a whisper: ''Are we going to play to-night?"
Cabinski presented a new play every day,
but he could not draw the public. He gave
The Trip Around Warsaw and The Robbers,
and still the house was empty. They played
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446 The Comedienne
such curtain-raisers as Don CcBsar de Bazan,
The Statue of the Commander ^ and The Fortune
Teller of La Voisin, but the theater remained
as deserted as ever.
''For goodness' sake, what do you want?"
the director cried to the public from behind the
curtain.
"Do you think they themselves know what
they want? K there were three htmdred
people present, then another three htmdred
would appear, but when there are only fifty
with the addition of cold and rain, then only
twenty remain," the editor explained to
Cabinski, for of all those ntunerous acquaint-
ances who used to come behind the scenes
he alone remained, the rest having dispersed
with the first rains.
"The public is a herd that does not know
where it is going to graze on the following
day," said Mr. Peter, with animosity.
Oh yes, they hated that public, and yet
prayed to it. They cursed it, called it "a
herd" and "cattle," threatened it with their
fists and spat upon it, but only let that public
appear in larger nimibers, and they fell upon
their faces before it and felt a deep gratitude
toward that capricious lady, who had a differ-
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The Comedienne 447
ent himior each day and each day bestowed
her favors upon someone else.
''The public is a harlot! a harlot!" whis-
pered Topolski threateningly. ''To-day she
is with a monarch, to-morrow with a clown!"
"You have told the truth, but it will not
give you even a ruble," answered Wawrzecki,
whose himior still survived, but had already
become sharp and bitter, for Mimi had left
the company and gone to join another one at
Posen.
Several members of the company had
already left, although there still remained a
whole week till the end of the season. Espe-
cially the choruses had almost entirely dis-
persed, for they suffered the most from
poverty.
The rains continued to fall in the morning,
the afternoon, and the evening. The atmo-
sphere at the theater became imbearable.
There were draughts in the dressing-rooms,
and mud covered the floors, for the roof leaked
everywhere. The cold was intense.
To Janina it seemed that this theater was
slowly falling apart and burying everyone
among its ruins, while that other one on
Theatrical Place stood strong and invincible.
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\
\
Its ponderous walls had grown black from the
rains and it appeared even sterner and might-
ier than before and filled Janina with a pious,
unexplainable awe whenever she gazed at it.
It sometimes seemed to her that this vast
edifice rested its colimms on piles of corpses
and that it drank the blood, the Uves, and the
brains of the actors in the smaller theaters and
throve and grew mighty on them.
*'I shall go mad! I shall go mad!" often
whispered Janina, pressing her btiming head
with her hands, for dreams and hallucinations
tormented her even more than hunger.
There was still . another thing which made
her deathly silent, so that she would sit for
whole hours listening within herself, and
thinking of those strange, indefinable impres-
sions and feelings which prevaded her ever
more frequently. Janina felt that something
dreadful was happening within her, that those
sudden fits of trembling and weeping which
would seize her without any Explainable
cause, those violently changing moods to
which she gave way and those strange suffer-
ings were somehow unnatural and resulted
from something about which she feared to
think. She had no mother, nor anyone in
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The Comedienne 449
whom she could confide and who would en-
lighten her, but there came a moment when
with womanly instinct she knew that she was
about to become a mother.
Janina wept for a long time after that
discovery, but her tears were not tears of
despair, but only of tender pity, sensitiveness
and shame at the same time. She felt then
that death had crouched behind her and was
standing so close that it sent a shudder of
frenzy through her entire being and cast her
into an apathetic indifference. She ceased to
think and surrendered herself passively, with
the fatalism of people who have suffered long
or who have been crushed by some overwhelm-
ing misfortime, to the wave that bore her on
and did not even ask whither it was taking her.
One day, imable to endure any longer the
sharp pangs of hunger, Janina began to look
aroimd her room for something which she
might sell. She began feverishly to nmimage
in her trtmks. She had only a few light
theatrical costtimes.
Sowinska was again reminding her almost
every day about her overdue rent and that
daily nagging was an unbearable torment.
Janina could not ask her to sell those cos-
ap
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450 The Comedienne
ttimes, for she knew that Sowinska wotild
imscruptdously keep the money, so she decided
to sell them herself.
She wrapped one of the costtimes in a piece
of paper and went to the door to wait for a
buyer of old clothes, but the porter was walk-
ing about the yard, servant girls were going to
and fro, and in the windows of the houses she
saw the faces of women who had often cast
scornful glances at her. No, she could not
sell here, for in a raoment the whole house
would know about her poverty. She went
to one of the adjoining houses and waited a
short while.
* ' Any old things to buy ! Any old things to
buy!" came the hoarse voice of an old Jew.
Jatiina called him. The Jew turned his
head and came to her. He was as dirty as he
was old. She went with him to the stoop of
some hotise.
*' Do you want to sell anything? " asked the
Jew, laying his bag and stick on the stairs and
bending his thin face and red eyes over the
package.
''Yes," answered Janina, unwrapping the
paper.
The Jew took the costume in his dirty
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The Comedienne 451
hands, spread it out in the sunlight, looked
over it a few times, smiled imperceptibly, put
it back in the paper, wrapped it up, picked up
his bag and stick and said, ''Such fineries are
not for me. ' ' He began to descend the stairway,
derisively sn^acking his lips.
"I will sell it cheap," Janina called after
him, thinking with fear that perhaps she might
get at least a ruble or a half -ruble for it.
"If you have some old shoes or pillow-slips,
I will buy them, but such a thing is of no use
to me. Who will buy it? Rubbish! ''
"Twill sell it cheap," she whispered.
"Well, how much do you want for it?"
"A ruble."
"May I fall down dead, if that is worth
more than twenty kopecks. What is it worth,
who will buy it?" and he came back, un-
wrapped the costume, and again examined it
indifferently.
"The ribbons alone cost me a few rubles,"
said Janina, and she became silent, deciding
that she would take the twenty kopecks.
"Ribbons! What's that ... all pieces!"
chattered the Jew, glancing over the costtmie
hastily. ' ' Well, I will give you thirty kopecks.
Do you want it? As Tm an honest man, I
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452 The Comedienne
can't give you more ... I have a good heart,
but I can't. Well, do you want it?"
This barter filled Janina with such disgtist,
shame, and grief, that she felt like throwing
down everything and running away.
The Jew counted out the money to her, took
the costtime and went away. From the window
of her room Janina saw how in the full light of
the yard he examined the dress once more.
''What shall I do with this?" she whispered
helplessly, pressing in her hand the dirty and
sticky kopecks.
Janina owed money to Mnie. Anna for the
rent of her room, to the tender of the theater-
buffet, and to a few of her companions of the
chorus, but she no longer thought of this, only
took the thirty kopecks and went out to the
store to buy herself something to eat.
She returned home, and having eaten, she
wished to take a little nap, but Sowinska
entered and told her that someone was waiting
for her for the last half-hour and immediately
there entered Niedzielska's servant girl with
eyes all red from crying.
"Please Miss, come along with me, for my
mistress is very sick and wants to see you with-
out fail," she said.
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The Comedienne 453
''Is Madame Niedzielska so seriously ill?"
cried Janina, springing up from the bed and
hurriedly putting on her hat.
*'The priest has already been there this
afternoon with the sacrament and she has only
a few hours to live/* whispered the faithful old
servant with tears in her eyes. ''She can
scarcely draw her breath and all I tmderstood
her to say was that I should run to you and
tell you that she wants to see you right away.
And where is Mr. Wladyslaw?"
" How can I know? He ought to be with his
mother/' answered Janina.
"He ought to, but he is a worthless son/'
whispered the servant in hollow tones.
"Already for a week he has not been at home,
for he had an awful quarrel with his mother.
My God! My God! how he swore at her and
abused her and even wanted to strike her. O
merciful Lord, that is the way he repaid her
for loving him so dearly that she even denied
herself food to supply him with money. She
was such a miser that she did not want to
spend money for a doctor or any medicines
and he ... oh! oh, God will punish him
severely for his mother's tears! I know that
you are not to blame for it, miss ... I can
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454 The Comedienne
guess that . . . but . . /' she whispered
quietly, hobbling alongside of Janina and
every now and then wiping her eyes, all red
from crying and loss of sleep.
Janina hardly heard a word of what she
was saying for the noise and the din in the
street and the splashing of water flowing from
the drainpipes to the sidewalk drowned out
everything else. She went along only because
the dying woman had stmimoned her.
The first room of Niedzielska's home was
almost filled with people and Janina greeted
them as she passed through it, but no one
answered her and all eyes followed her with a
peculiar curiosity.
In the room where Niedzielska lay, there
were also a few persons seated about her bed.
Janina went straight to the sick woman. She
was lying flat on her back, but fixed her eyes
upon Janina as soon as she had crossed the
threshold.
On Janina's entrance the persons in the room
stopped talking so abruptly that the sudden
silence sent a strange thrill through her. She
met Niedzielska's gaze and could not tear her
eyes away from it. She sat down alongside of
the bed, greeting her in a subdued voice.
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The Comedienne 455
The old woman grasped her hand tightly
and in a quiet voice with a very strong accent
asked: ''Where is Wladek?''
Her brows knit themselves in an expression
of severity and something like hatred gleamed
in the yellowish whites of her eyes.
"I don't know. How am I to know?"
answered Janina almost frightened by her
question.
*'You don't know, you thief! You have
stolen my son and yet, you dare tell me that
you don't know!" gasped Niedzielska, striv-
ing to raise her voice a little, but it sounded
hollow and wild. Her eyes opened ever wider
and gleamed with hatred and menace, her pale
lips quivered nervously, and her thin, yellow
face twitched continually. She raised herself
a bit on her bed and in a hoarse voice, as
though rallying her remaining strength cried:
''You streetwalker! You thief! You . . ."
and she fell back exhausted, with a hollow
groan.
Janina sprang up, as though an electric
shock had passed through her, but the old
woman gripped her wrist so tightly that she
fell back again on her chair, tmable to free
her hand. She glanced about desperately at
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456 The Comedienne
everybody, in the room, but their faces were
stem. She closed her eyes for a moment to
shut out the sight of the yellowish wrinkled
faces of those women who stood facing her like
specters glaring at her with their skeleton-like
faces in the shadowy twilight of the room.
"So that is she! So yotmg and already . . ."
*'A base serpent.*'
''I would kill her like a dog, if she tried to do
the same with my son."
*' I would have her locked up and sent to the
workhouse.'*
*'In my days such women as that were put
into the pillory as a punishment . I
remember well.'*
''Be quiet! quiet!" whispered an old man
trying to pacify the women.
*' And for her he ran away to the comedians,
for her he squandered so much money, for such
a low-down thing as she, he beat his mother!
May you perish, you base serpent!"
Such were the voices full of hatred and scorn
that hissed all about Janina and the poisonous
malignity that dripped from their words and
glances flooded her heart with an ocean of pain
and shame. She wanted to cry out: "Mercy,
people! I am innocent," but her head bent
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The Comedienne 457
ever lower on her breast and she had an ever
dimmer consciousness of where she was and
what was happening to her. Janina's sotil
had already been weakened too much by
misery to resist this blow. An inmiense wave
of fear began to shake her, for it seemed to her
that the hand of the old woman which held her
so tightly and those dreadful eyes bulging
from their sockets were drawing her down into
a dark abyss and that this was death and the
end of everything.
Later, Janina no longer heard anything
that was being said and saw no one but the
dying woman. At moments, she still felt a
desire to spring up and run away from there
but it was a mere flicker of will that passed
through her nerves without reaching her
consciousness.
So many previous sufferings, and now this
blow at her very heart, bentimbed her brain
with a quiet madness. She grew frightfully
pale and sat as though dead, gazing at the face
of the dying woman. Those same fragments
of thoughts and visions now swarmed through
her brain that had done so once before: that
same vast mass of greenish waters seemed to
submerge her consciousness. She was not
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458 The Comedienne
even aware that they had torn her away from
Niedzielska and shoved her into a comer
where she stood immovable and bereft of her
senses.
Niedzielska was djring. It seemed as
though she had only been waiting for Janina
before giving herself up to death, for anger and
hatred kept her alive a few hours longer.
Now, there followed a general dissolution.
She lay there rigid and straight, with her
hands upon the coverlet, which they tugged at
automatically, and with her sad eyes gazing
upward as though into the eternity into which
she was entering.
The consecrated candle shed a yellowish
light upon her face impearled with the sweat
of her last struggle and death agony. Her
gray hair, scattered in a disheveled mass upon
the pillow, formed a sort of backgrotmd upon
which appeared in sharper relief her withered
head, shaking with the tmconscious and
frightful convulsions of death. She breathed
heavily and slowly and gasped with effort,
catching the air with her pale lips. At mo-
ments her face would writhe and her mouth
twitch with a dreadful spasm of pain and she
would raise her hands as though she wanted
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The Comedienne 459
to tear apart her throat to get more air. Her
white and fever-coated tongue slipped spas-
modically from her mouth and so tense did her
body become in the struggle with death that
the veins stood out like black whip cords on
^er temples and throat.
The silence was full of weeping and sobbing
of those kneeling about and the awful groans
of the dying woman. Feverishly whispered
prayers, tear-streaming eyes, the sobbing of
the servant and the children filled the room
with an atmosphere of dreadful and over-
whelming tragedy. The dark shadows at the
farther end of the room trembled as though
engtilfing it all. The candles diffused a
yellowish, ghastly light that seemed to steep
everything in botmdless grief.
The room filled up completely with kneeling
people and only she, who lay there rigid,
tmconscious, and dying, reigned from the
throne of death over that bowed throng beg-
ging for mercy.
An old man with silvery gray hair made his
way to the bed, knelt down, took a prayer
book from his pocket and, by the light of the
candle, began to read the Penitential Psalms.
He had a clear and melodious voice and the
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46o The Comedienne
words of the psalms, like a murmuring rain-
bow, or like flashes of lightning full of terror,
tears, might, and heavenly grace, floated above
the heads of all those present:
"Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am
weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are
vexed."
*'Thou art my hiding place; Thou shalt pre-
serve me from trouble ..."
•'Many sorrows shall be to the wicked, but
he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall
compass him about."
** My lovers and my friends stand aloof from
my sore and my kinsmen stand afar off."
"They also that seek after my life lay snares
for me; and they that seek for my hurt speak
mischievous things and imagine deceits all
day long."
. The words rang out ever stronger and
eddied through the air like the breath of a
mighty power that bent low all foreheads and
cast them down into the dust with tears of
sorrow, penance, and supplication. All those
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The Comedienne 461
present repeated them after the old man and
that confused, tearftil and monotonous mur-
mur of voices awoke Janina from her torpor.
She felt that she was still alive, so she knelt
down on the threshold of the room and with
fever-parched lips whispered those sweet
words long since forgotten, and drew from
them a deep comfort full of sadness and
tenderness.
" Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean;
wash me and I shall be whiter than snow."
"Hide not thy face from me, lest I be like
unto them that go down into the pit."
"And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies,
and destroy all them that afflict my soul, for
I am thy servant."
She repeated the words fervently and large
tears rolled down her face, tmiting with the
tears of all the other mourners and purging her
soul of all sorrows and memory of what had
passed. But after a while those tears began
to stream so freely and stifle her so that Janina
quietly arose and left the place.
On the street she met Wladek nmning
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462 The Comedienne
toward the house in haste and fear. He
stopped to ask her about his mother, but she
went on without even glancing at him.
Abnost all feelings were dead within Janina,
save that of a deathly weariness. She entered
the lighted Church of St. Ann on the Cracow
Suburb and, seating herself in one of the pews,
gazed at the illtuninated altar and the throng
of kneeling worshipers. She heard the
solemn tones of the organ and a wave of song
rising above it. She saw looking at her from
the walls and the altars the peaceful and
happy faces of saints, but all this did not
awaken a single emotion in her.
"Thou wilt cut off mine enemies and de-
stroy all them that afflict my soul. Thou wilt
destroy them . . ." Janina repeated mechani-
cally and left the church. No, no, she could
not pray — she could not.
Janina slept after all this with a deep, stony
sleep that was free from dreams.
On the following day Cabinski gave her a
big r61e that used to be Mimi's. Janina
accepted it with indifference. With the same
indifference she went to Niedzielska's funeral.'
She walked at the end of the procession
tmnoticed by anyone and gazed indifferently
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The Comedienne 463
at the thousands of graves in the cemetery and
at the coffin and not a scintilla of feeling stirred
in her even at the sound of the sobbing over
the grave. Something had broken within her
and she had lost all ability to feel what was
going on about her.
In the evening Janina went to the theater
for the performance. She dressed as usual
and sat thoughtlessly gazing at the rows of
candles pasted to the tables, at the scribbled
walls and at the rows of actresses sitting before
their mirrors.
Sowinska continually himg about the dress-
ing-room and observed her curiously.
Her companions spoke to Janina, but she
did not answer them. Every now and then,
she fell into a state of torpor in which one
beholds without seeing anything and lives
without feeling, while deep within, at the very
bottom of her consciousness, there was
reflected the image of that dying woman and
there swarmed and hissed those stinging and
scornful whispers of her neighbors, mixed
with the words of the Penitential Psalms.
Suddenly, a tremor ran through Janina, for a
voice reached her from the stage which sounded
like Grzesikiewicz's ; so she arose and went out.
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464 The Comedienne
Wladek was standing on the stage, engaged
in a lively conversation with Majkowska,
whose naked shoulders he was kissing.
Janina paused behind one of the scenes, for
some feeling without a name passed through
her heart, like the sharp, cold edge of a dagger,
but was swiftly gone again, awakening in her a
certain knowledge.
''Mr. Niedzielski!" she called.
The actor threw back his shoulders, while
across his clean-shaven face there passed a
shadow of impatience and boredom. He
whispered yet a few words into the ear of Mela,
who smiled and departed, and then, without
trying to disguise his ill humor, he approached
Janina.
"Did you want anything?" he asked
irascibly.
"Yes ..."
In the despondency that filled her at that
moment Janina wanted to tell him that she
was imhappy and ill. She longed to hear a
warm word of sympathy and felt an irresist-
ible need of telling her troubles to someone
and of weeping on some friendly breast, but on
hearing the sharp tone of Wladek's voice, she
suddenly remembered how much she had
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The Comedienne 465
stiffered through him and how base he was, so
she suppressed those desires within herself.
''Are we going to play to-day?" she asked.
"We are. There are about a hundred ru-
bles in the treasury.'*
"Ask them for some money for me."
"What do you think! Do you want me to
make a fool of myself? Moreover, I'm going
right home."
Janina glanced at him and said in a quiet,
expressionless voice: "Take me home, for I
feel so very miserable."
"I have no time, I must immediately run to
my own home, for already they are all waiting
for me there."
"Oh, how base you are! How base you
are!" she whispered.
Wladek recoiled a few steps, not knowing
whether he should smile, or pretend to be
offended.
"Are you saying that to me, to me?" he
asked. He did not dare to swear, for that girl
with her proud face and glance of a lady
imposed respect upon him and thrust back into
his throat, as it were, the brutalities that he
wanted to hurl at her.
"To you!" Janina answered. "You are
30
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466 The Comedienne
base! You are the basest person in the
world . . . do you hear! . . . the basest!"
''Janina!" he cried endearingly, as though
he wanted to shield himself thereby from her
accusation.
'* I forbid you to address me in that manner,
it insults me!"
''Have you gone crazy, or what has hap-
pened to you? What sort of farce do you call
that!" he choked out in anger.
" I have found out what you are and I scorn
you with my whole soul."
''Whew! So that is the kind of pathetic
r61e you have chosen to play? Are you pre-
paring it for your d6but at the Warsaw
Theater?"
Janina answered him only with a look of scorn
and walked away.
Sowinska came up to her and with a myste-
rious and cruel pity in her voice whispered :
"It isn't good for you to get so irritated and
also, you ought not lace yourself so tightly."
"Why?"
"It may harm you, because . . . because
. . ."andshewhisperedtherestintojanina'sear.
The blood rushed to Janina's face with shame
at the thought that Sowinska had recognized
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The Comedienne 467
her condition which she was seeking to conceal.
She had no more strength left to reply to her,
nor time either, for she had to go on the stage.
They were playing The Peasant Emigration
and Janina appeared in the first act as a super.
In the men's dressing-room that evening, a
storm broke out. In the intermission before
the so-called "Christmas Eve" scene of the
play, Topolski, who was acting the part of
'*Bartek Kozica," sent to Cabinski a letter,
or a sort of ultimatimi demanding fifty rubles
for himself and Majkowska and, in case of a
denial, refusing to play any further. While
waiting for Cabinski's reply, he began slowly
to remove his make-up.
Cabinski came rtmning almost with tears
in his eyes and cried: ''I will give you twenty
rubles. Oh, oh! you people have no mercy
on me!"
''Give me fifty rubles and we shall continue
to play; if you don't then ..." Here he
unglued one half of his mustache and began to
take off his leggings.
''For God's sake man! there is only one
himdred rubles in all in the treasury and that
is hardly enough to cover the expenses."
"Let me have fifty rubles immediately, or
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else you can finish the play yoiirself or return
the public its money," calmly said Topolski,
pulling off his other legging.
''Up till now, I had thought that you^ at
least, were a man! Just think what you are
doing to us all," pleaded Cabinski.
''Don't you see, Director . . • I am
undressing."
The intermission was being prolonged and the
public outside was beginning to shout and
stamp its feet with impatience.
"No, I should sooner have expected death
than that! And you, who are my best friend,
are you going to go back on me now?" con-
tinued Cabinski.
"My dear Director, there's no use talking
any ftuther. You can fool everyone else, but
not me."
"But I haven't the money. If I give you
thirty rubles now, I will have nothing left
with which to pay the rent of the theater!"
cried Cabinski in despair, running about the
dressing-room.
"I have said: if you do not give us fifty
rubles, we shall go straight home."
In the hall there began to rise a very pande-
moniimi of shouts and catcalls.
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The Comedienne 469
"All right, here is fifty rubles, take them.
You are robbing your own companions, but
you don't care a rap about that, for you'll
have something with which to organize your
own company. Here, take them, but that
ends all relations between us!"
''Don't worry about my company; I shall
reserve the position of a stage-hand for you,"
"Sooner will you check coats in my theater,
before I join yours."
' ' Silence, you clown ! ' '
"I'll call the police and they'll quiet you
right away!" shouted the infuriated Cabinski.
"I'll silence you immediately, you circus
performer!" cried Topolski, who had just
finished dressing, and, taking Cabinski by the
collar, he gave him a kick that sent him flying
out of the dressing-room; then he himself went
out on the stage.
The performance was concluded peacefully,
but a new quarrel started aroimd the box
office. The actors and actresses stood there
in a close group so that only their heads and
faces, shining with the grease used to wash off
the paint, were visible in the gaslight. They
were all shouting for money and demanding
their overdue salaries. They shook their
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fists threateningly at the cashier's window,
their eyes flashed lightning, and their voices
were hoarse from shouting.
Cabinski, still red and trembling from the
abuse that had just met him, quarreled with
everybody and swore and wanted to pay only
the usual installments.
''Whoever isn't satisfied with what he gets,
let him go to Topolski! It's all the same to
me . . ."he cried.
Janina approached the window and said:
"Director, you promised to pay me to-day."
"I haven't the money!"
"But neither have I," she begged quietly.
" I am not pajring the others either, and yet,
they do not importune me as you do."
"Mr. Cabinski, I am almost djring from
himger," she answered straightforwardly.
"Then go and earn some money. All the
others know how to help themselves. I like
naive women, but only on the stage. A
comedienne! Go to Topolski, he will advance
you the money."
"Oh, Topolski asstiredly won't let the mem-
bers of his company suffer poverty. He will
pay each what is due him and will not cheat
people!" cried Janina impulsively.
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The Comedienne 47 1
"Then you can go straight to him and don't
show up here again!" shouted Cabinski,
driven to fury by the mention of Topolski.
''Listen there, Director!" began Glas, but
Janina listened no longer and, pushing her way
through the crowd, left the theater.
"Go and earn it . . ." she repeated to
herself.
She walked along the almost empty streets.
The gas-lamps cast a ghastly, yellowish glare
like that of fimeral tapers on the silent and
deserted thoroughfares and alleys. The dark-
blue vault of the sky htmg over the city like a
huge canopy embroidered with brightly scintil-
lating stars. A cool breeze swept down the
streets and chilled Janina to the marrow.
"Go and earn it!" she again repeated to
herself, passing before the Grand Theater.
She had come here without being aware of it.
Janina glanced at the building and turned
back. An tmbearable pain racked her head,
as though there was a burning iron ring about
it. She was so utterly weak and worn-out
that at moments she could scarcely resist the
desire to sit down on the curbstone and
remain there. Then again, so desperate a
realization of her poverty filled her that she
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was almost ready to give herself to anyone
who might ask, if she could only relieve that
agonized trembling within herself, that almost
deathly weakness and exhaustion.
She dragged herself heavily along the
streets, for she no longer knew what to do,
and the chill night air, the silence, and that
deathly weariness gave her a sort of painful
ecstasy. Before her eyes there hovered only
phantom forms and fiery spots, so that she
knew not where she was or what was happen-
ing to her. She felt only one thing and that
was that she would no longer be able to endtire
it.
"What am I going to do ftirther?" Janina
asked thoughtlessly, looking before herself.
The silence of the sleeping city and the si-
lence of the dark heavens seemed to be the only
answer to her question.
Janina felt as though she were falling
swiftly down a steep incline and that there,
at the very bottom, lay the outstretched
corpse of Niedzielska.
''Death!" she answered herself. "Death!"
and she gazed fixedly at that dead face with
the congealed tears on its cheeks, and not fear,
but an immense silence enveloped her sotd.
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The Comedienne 473
She looked all about her as though she were
seeking for the cause of that deep silence at her
side.
Then, she began thinking of her father, of
the theater, and of herself, but as though they
were things which she had only seen or read
about.
''What am I going to do?" Janina asked
herself aloud after she had returned home. It
was impossible for her to see or even to imagine
what the morrow would be like.
"In this condition I can't go to the theater,
I can't go anywhere. But what am I going to
do? " That question smote her now and then,
as with a club.
Day began to dawn and flood the room with
its drab and gray light, but Janina still sat
on the same spot, gazing blankly out of the
window, with deeply sunken eyes and whisper-
ing with lips blackened by fever: "What am I
going to do? What am I going to do? "
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CHAPTER XI
The season ended. Cabinski was leaving
for Plock with an entirely new company,
for Topolski had taken away his best forces
and the rest had scattered among various
companies.
In the pastry shop on Nowy Swiat, Krzy-
kiewicz, who had broken with Ciepieszewski,
was organizing a company of his own. Stanis-
lawski was also starting a small company on
a profit-sharing basis. Topolski was already
preparing his company for its trip to Lublin.
The local garden-theaters were all closed
for the season and a deathly silence reigned
over them. The stages were boarded up and
the dressing-rooms and entrances locked. The
verandas were strewn with broken chairs
and rubbish. The autumn leaves fluttered
from the trees and torn scraps of programs of
the last performances rustled about sadly
in the breeze. The season was over.
Nobody visited the theater any more, for
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The Comedienne 475
the migratory birds were preparing for their
flight, only Janina from force of habit, still
would come here, gaze a moment at the
deserted haimts and return again.
Cabinska wrote her a very cordial letter,
inviting her to her home. Janina went there
and f oimd that they were already packing up
for their journey. Inmiense tnmks and bas-
kets stood in the middle of the rooms, a large
pile of various stage paraphernalia together
with mattresses and bedding lay on the floor —
the entire outfit of a nomadic life.
In Cabinska's room, Janina no longer foxmd
either the wreaths or the furniture, or the
canopied bed; there shone only the bare walls
with the plaster broken here and there by the
hasty removal of pictures and the pulling out
of hooks. A long basket stood in the middle
of the room and the nurse, perspiring from her
exertion, was packing into it Pepa's wardrobe.
Cabinska, with a cigarette in her mouth,
directed the packing and continually scolded
the children, who were timibling in great glee
over the mattresses and the straw strewn about
the packages.
She greeted Janina with exaggerated cor-
diality and said: ''There is such a dust in here
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476 The Comedienne
that it is iinbearable. Nurse, be careful how
you pack, so that you don't crush my dresses.
Let us go out on the street," she said to Janina,
putting on her coat and hat.
She pulled Janina along to her pastry shop
and there, over a cup of chocolate, began to
apologize to her for the discourtesy that
Cabinski had shown her at the box office.
"Believe me, the director was so excited
that he really did not know what he was saying.
And can you wonder at it? He was giving his
best efforts and even pawning his personal
effects, only that the company might lack
nothing and, in the meanwhile, along comes
Topolski, creates a rumpus and breaks up his
company. Even a saint would lose patience
in those circimistances and, moreover, Topol-
ski told my husband that you were going to
join his company."
Janina answered nothing, for she was now
entirely indifferent toward the whole matter,
but when Cabinska told her that on that very
afternoon they were leaving for Plock and that
she should immediately pack her things, for
the expressman would call for them directly, she
answered with decision: "Thank you for your
kindness, Mrs. Directress, but I shall not go."
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The / Comedienne 477
Cabinska cotdd scarcely believe her ears and
cried out in amazement: ''Have you already
secured an engagement and where?"
"Nowhere, nor do I intend to," answered
the girl.
''How is that! Are you going to abandon
the stage? You who have a big futtire before
you!"
"I have had more than enough of acting,"
answered Janina with bitterness.
"Come now, don't reproach me with it,
you know it's your first year on the stage
and they wouldn't give you big r61es at once,
anjnvhere."
" Oh, I am no longer going to try for them."
"And I had already been planning that in
Plock you would live together with us and
that would not only make it easier for you,
but my daughter also could derive more
benefit from it. Please think it over and I,
on my part, assure you that you will also get
r61es."
"No, no! I have enough of poverty and
have absolutely no more strength left to bear
it any further and, moreover, I cannot, I
cannot ..." answered Janina quietly, with
tears in her eyes, for that proposal flashed
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478 The Comedienne
before her mind like the dawn of a better f utiire
and awakened for a moment her old enthusi-
asm and dreams of artistic triimiph. But
immediately she thought of her present condi-
tion and the sufferings that she would have to
endure on that accotmt, so she added with
even greater emphasis: '*No, I cannot! I
cannot!"
But she could not hold back the tears which
continued to stream quietly down her face
tmtil even Cabinska was touched and, drawing
nearer to her, whispered with sincere sym-
pathy, "For God's sake what is the matter
with you? Tell me, perhaps I shall be able to
help you."
In reply Janina blushed faintly, warmly
clasped Cabinska's hand, and hastily left the
pastry shop.
Tears were stifling her; life was stifling her.
Immediately afterward Stanislawski came
to Janina and urged her to leave with him for
the small provincial towns. He was organiz-
ing a company of from eight to nine persons
in which each was to hold a share. He offered
Janina leading r61es and spoke in glowing
terms of the certain success that awaited them
in the provincial towns. He enimierated all
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The Comedienne 479
those whom he was engaging: all yoimg people
and novices, full of energy, zeal, and talent.
And he promised himself that he would lead
them along the path of true art, that his
company would be in the nature of a school for
drama and that he would be a real teacher
and father, who would make of these people
true artists worthy of the theater and its
traditions.
Janina refused Stanislawski briefly. She
thanked him heartily for the kindness he had
shown her during the summer and took leave
of him cordially, as though forever.
When he had gone, she determined finally to
end it all. She had not yet told herself deci-
sively: *'I will die!" So far, if someone had
told her that she was contemplating suicide
she wotild have denied it sincerely, but already
that thought and desire were lurking in the
subconscious depths of her mind.
Janina knew when the Cabinskis were
leaving, so she went down to the steamboat
landing. She stood upon the bridge and
watched them steam away. She gazed at the
gray waves of the Wisla splashing against the
sides of the pier and at the distant horizon
veiled in autumn mists, and such an intense
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48o The Comedienne
sadness and grief overwhelmed her that she
could not move from the spot, or tear her eyes
away from the water.
' Night fell and Janina still stood there, gaz-
ing before her. The rows of lights on the river
banks sprang up from the darkness like golden
flowers and dotted the rocking, greenish sur-
face of the water with quivering gleams. The
din and hum of the city echoed dimly behind
her, the hacks sped with noisy clatter across
the bridge, the bells of the tramcars clanged
incessantly, crowds of people!' passed by with
laughter; sometimes the echo of a song reached
Janina, or the merry tones of a hand organ,
then again, a warm breath of wind, saturated
with the raw odor of the river, fanned her
feverish face. All these sights and soimds
beat against her as against a lifeless statue and
rebounded again without making any impres-
sion on her.
The water in its depths began to pass
through ever stranger transformations: it
turned black, but that blackness was inter-
woven with gleams of light, flames of red,
streaks of violet, and rays of yellow, like the
glowing flame of pain. There, in those silent
depths, there seemed to be a better and fuller
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The Com6dienne 481
life, for the waves mtirmiired so joyously,
broke against the piers and stone bulwarks and,
as though with frenzied laughter, united again,
blended, tumbled over one another and flowed
on. Janina seemed almost to hear their
care free laughter, their calling to one another
and their voice of mighty joy.
"What are you doing here?" suddenly said
a voice behind her.
Janina trembled and turned aroimd slowly.
Wolska was standing before her and curiously
and uneasily watching her.
*'0h, nothing, I was just gazing about."
*' Come with me, the air here isn't healthy,"
said Wolska, taking Janina by the arm, for
she read in her dimmed eyes a suicidal
intent.
Janina allowed herself to be led away and
only after they had gone some distance, she
asked quietly, "So you have not left with
Cabinski?"
' ' I couldn't. You see, my Johnnie's health is
again worse. The doctor has forbidden me to
move him from bed and I believe that it would
kill him, ' ' whispered Wolska sadly. ' ' I had to
stay, for, of course, I can't send him to the
hospital. If it comes to the worst, we shall
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482 The Comedienne
die together, but I will not forsake him. The
doctor still gives me some hope that he will
recover."
Janina gazfed with a strange feeling at the
face of Wolska which, though worn and faded,
beamed with a deep motherly love. She
looked like a beggar woman in her dark,
stained cloak and gray dress, frayed at the
bottom; she wore a straw hat and black
mended gloves and carried a parasol which was
rusty from continual use. But through all
this poverty there shone, as bright as the sim,
her love for her child. She saw and heeded
nothing else, for all that did not concern her
child had no meaning for her.
Janina walked alongside of her, gazing with
admiration at this woman. She knew her
story. Wolska was the daughter of a rich and
intelligent family. She fell in love with an
actor, or else with the theater itself, and went
on the stage and, although later her lover
abandoned her and she suffered poverty and
himiiliation, she could not tear herself away
from the theater and now, she centered all her
love and all her hopes upon her child that had
been seriously ill since the spring.
"Where does she get all her strength?**
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The Comedienne 483
thought Janina and then, tiiming to WoJska,
she asked: ''What are you doing now?"
Wolska shuddered, a faint blush flitted over
her worn face and her lips quivered with a
painful expression as she answered: ''I sing . . .
What else could I do? I must live and must
earn enough to pay Johnnie's doctor bills.
I must. Although it fills me with shame to
do it, I must. Alas, such is my fate, such is
my fate!" she moaned complainingly.
''But I don't know what you mean," said
Janina, who could not tmderstand why Wolska
should feel ashamed to earn a living by singing.
"Because, you see. Miss Janina, I don't
want anybody to know about it. . . . You
will keep it to yourself, won't you?" she
begged with tears in her eyes.
"Certainly I give you my word. More-
over, whom would I tell . . . ? I am all alone
in the world."
"I sing in a restaurant on Podwal St.," said
Wolska in a low and hurried voice.
" In a restaurant! " whispered Janina, stand-
ing stock-still in amazement.
"What else could I do? Tell me, what else
could I do? I need money for food and rent.
How else could I earn it, when I don't even
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484 The Comedienne
know how to sew? At home I knew how to
play on the piano a bit and could speak a Uttle
French, but of course, that would not bring me
a penny now. I saw an advertisement in the
Courier for a singer, so I went there and got the
position. They pay me a ruble a day together
with meals and ..." but tears choked her
voice and she grasped Janina's hand and
pressed it feverishly. Janina returned the
hand-clasp with a similar one and they walked
on in silence.
''Come along with me, won't you? It will
make me feel a little more at ease, ' ' said Wolska.
Janina willingly agreed.
They entered the restaurant "Under the
Bridge" on Podwal St. It was a long and
narrow garden with a few miserable trees.
At the very entrance there was a well. A
whitewashed fence on the left side of the
garden divided it from the neighboring prop-
erty which must have been a Itmiberyard,
for piles of beams and boards cotild be seen
looming above the fence. A few kerosene
lanterns illuminated the place. A ntmiber of
little white tables with varnished tops and
arotmd them three times that ntmiber of
rough-hewn chairs constituted the entire fur-
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The Comedienne 485
nishings of that summer restaurant. A small
office on the groimd floor and the top of the
neighboring hotise enclosed the right side of
the garden, while at the back there arose a
high, rough brick wall with small, dirty, and '
barred windows; it was the rear of the former ,
Kochanowski Palace, standing on the comer |
of Miodowa and Kapittilna Streets. ^
Near the fence, a small stage shaded by a
canvas roof with its two open sides facing
toward the audience, formed a sort of niche,
the walls of which were covered with a cheap,
blue paper dotted with silver stars. The
smoking kerosene footlights on one side of
the stage cast a drab light upon a musician /
with a disheveled gray beard and grease- /
stained coat, who was potmding away at the
keyboard of a wretched piano with an auto- \
matic motion of his arms and head. \
The garden was filled with a public of work- /
ing-class people and those from the poorer '
section of the city.
Janina and Wolska pushed their way
through the crowd to that little office building .
in which there was a dressing-room for the
performers, divided into a men's and women's
compartment by a red cretonne ctirtain.
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486 The Comedienne
*'I am already waiting!" came a hoarse,
dnmken voice from behind the curtain.
''You can begin your part, I will come right
away!" answered Wolska, dressing herself in
feverish haste in a grotesque, red costtmie.
In a few nmiutes she was all ready for her
appearance. Janina followed her out and took
a seat facing the stage. Wolska, all flushed
with hurrying and still closing the last buttons
and hooks of her costtmie, appeared on the
stage, greeting the public with a long bow.
The musician struck the yellow keys and at
the same moment there arose the tones of a
song:
Once upon a stump among the hills,
Between the oaks there sat two turtle-doves,
And I know not for what sport of love's
They kissed each other with their bills.
The strains of the old, sentimental song
from The Cracovians and the Mountaineers
floated on, interruped only by frequent bursts
of applause, the banging of beer glasses against
the tables, the clatter of plates, the slamming
of doors and the reports or rifles in the shoot-
ing galleries. The lanterns diffused a hazy
and muddy light; girls in white aprons and
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The Comedienne 487
with their hands ftill of beer glasses, passed in
and out among the tables, flirted with the
drinking men and flimg cynical remarks and
answers at those who accosted them. Ribald
laughter and coarse jokes flew arotmd like
fire-works and were immediately answered by
broad, thoughtless merriment.
The public expressed its satisfaction with
the singing by shouting, beating time with
their canes, and banging their beer glasses.
At moments the wind wotild entirely drown
out the singing, or bend the few wretched
trees with a rustUng sotmd and scatter the
leaves over the stage and the heads of the
public.
Wolska continued to sing. Her red vaude-
ville costtmie, with low-cut front, gleamed like
a gaudy spot against the blue backgrotmd of
the stage and excellently accentuated her thin,
thickly painted face, her sunken and pale
eyes, and her sharp features which looked like
the skeleton-like face of a starving man. She
swayed from side to side with a heavy motion
to the measure of the song:
Such ardent love took hold of me,
I embraced Stach most tenderly.
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488 The Comedienne
Her voice floated through the garden with a
hollow, rasping sound and added to the din
made by that noisy and drunken crowd.
Brutal laughs broke out in sharp, penetrating
scales, and those bravos emitted by the drtmken
threats of a Sunday public and interrupted by
hiccoughs, beat against the stage with a hoarse
and hollow roar together with the biting
jibes that were not spared the singer. But she
heard nothing and sang on, indifferent and
cold to all that surrounded her. She flimg
forth tones, words, and ndmicry with the
automatism of a hypnotized woman, only at
moments, her eyes would seek Janina's as
though they were begging for pity.
Janina grew pale and red by turns, tmable
to endure any longer that alcohol-saturated
atmosphere and that dnmken din which filled
her with aversion and disgust.
*'I would rather die!" she thought. Oh,
no, she would never be able to amuse such a
public. She wotild spit in its eyes and scorn
herself and then ... if there were no other
way out . . . drown herself in the Wisla!
Wolska finished her song and her partner,
dressed in a Cracovian costtmie, went about
among the drinking crowd with his notes in his
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The Comedienne 489
hand, collecting money. Remarks that froze
one with their cynicism and brutal frankness,
were hiirled into his face, but he only smiled
with the dull smile of a habitual drunkard,
nervously twitched his lips and humbly bowed
his thanks for those ten-copeck pieces that
were thrown on his notes. — n
Wolska, with closed eyes, stood beside the
piano, nervously tugged at the golden lace of
her waist and, groaning with painful anxiety, .■
cotmted in her mind the ntmiber of copecks
which her partner placed together with the
notes beside her. The pianist again struck
the keys and Wolska and her partner began to
sing together some comic couplets, interwoven
with a kind of ''Krakowiak" which they
danced in a half dreamy manner.
Janina could hardly wait for the end of the
performance and, without saying anjrthing
about the impression that that drinking den
had made on her, she took leave of Wolska and
fairly ran away from that garden, that public,
and that degradation.
Dtiring the entire day following, she did not
leave her home. She ate nothing and hardly
thought at all, but lay in bed and gazed
blankly at the ceiling, following with her eyes.
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490 The Comedienne
the last fly that crept drowsily and half dead
over it.
In the evening, Sowinska came in, sat down
on a trunk and, without any introduction,
said harshly: "The room is already rented to
another tenant, so to-morrow you can clear
out of here. And since you owe us fifteen
rubles, I will keep all your duds and give them
back to you only when you pay me the
money."
''Very well,'' answered Janina and she
looked at Sowinska indifferently, as though
nothing out of the ordinary were at stake.
''Very well, I shall go! " she added in a quieter
tone and arose from the bed.
*' You will doubtlessly manage to help your-
self in some way, won't you ? You will yet come
to see me in a carriage, eh?" said Sowinska
and an ugly, hostile light gleamed in her owlish
eyes.
"Very well," repeated Janina in the same
mechanical way and began to pace up and
down the room.
Sowinska, growing tired of waiting for some
kind of reply, left the room.
"So all is ended!" whispered Janina in a
hollow voice and the thought of death became
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The Comedienne 49^
a conscious reality in her mind and shone
alluringly.
"What is death? A forgetting, a forget-
ting!" she answered herself aloud, standing
still and sinking her eyes in those murky deeps
that opened up before her soul.
''Yes, a forgetting, a forgetting!'* she
repeated slowly and for a long time sat motion-
less, gazing at the flame of the lamp.
The night dragged on slowly, the house
became quiet, the lights were gradually extin-
guished in the long rows of windows and an
ever deeper silence spread itself about, imtil
everything became steeped in this drowsy
silence.
The gray light of dawn was already begin-
ning to streak the horizon and to illtmiine the
faint outlines of the housetops when Janina
awoke from her torpor and gazed about the
room. She felt fully determined, so she sprang
up from her chair and, driven on by some
thought that lit up her eyes with a strange
fire, walked quietly to the door and opened it.
But the noisy click of the latch which she
closed after her penetrated her with such a
strange, sharp fear that she reeled back against
the frame of the door and breathed heavily for
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492 The Comedienne
a few moments. Finally, she quietly pulled
off her shoes and boldly, but with the utmost
caution, passed through the hall and entered
a large room adjoining the kitchen which was
used as a dining room and a workroom in the
day time and as a sleeping room for Mme.
Anna's apprentices at night. The close and
heavy air of the room almost suffocated Janina.
With outstretched hands and bated breath,
she stole toward the kitchen so slowly that
those minutes seemed an eternity to her. At
moments, she paused and, overcoming her
trembling — that awful trembling — Glistened to
the loud breathing and snoring of those sleep-
ing there and then went on again, setting her
teeth with a desperate strength. Large drops
of perspiration rolled down her forehead from
exertion and fear and her heart beat so slowly
and painfully that she almost felt the pulsation
of it in her throat. The kitchen door was open
and Janina passed through it like a shadow,
but she stumbled against the bed of the ser-
vant-girl, which stood very near the door. She
grew ntunb with fear and for a long time stood
motionless and breathless, almost in a state
of suspended animation, gazing with terrified
eyes at the bed whose dim outlines she could
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The Comedienne 493
scarcely make out in the darkness. But
finally, rallying all her strength and courage,
she walked boldly to the shelf upon which
stood various kitchen utensils and supplies
and felt one after another with the greatest
caution, imtil finally, her hand rested upon a
flat oblong bottle containing essence of vine-
gar. She had seen it here a few hours ago and
now, having found it, she snatched it up so
violently from among the other articles that
a tin cover fell with a crash upon the floor.
Janina unconsciously bent her head in terror,
for the clash of the falling cover resotmded
with such a tremendous echo in her brain that
it seemed as though the whole world were
crashing down on her.
"Who's there?" called the servant, awak-
ened by the noise. ''Who's there?" she
repeated in a louder voice.
"It is I ... I came for a drink of water,"
answered Janina with a choking voice, after
a long while, nervously pressing the bottle to
her breast. The servant indistinctly mtunbled
something and did not speak again.
Janina ran to her room, as though pursued
by the ftiries of madness, no longer caring
whether anyone heard her or might awaken
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494 The Comedienne
and, having reached it, locked the door and
only then collapsed, half dead from exhaustion
and trembled so violently that she thought
she would fall to pieces. The tears, which
she did not even feel, began to stream down
her face. They gave her so great a relief
that she fell asleep. In the morning Sowinska
again reminded her that it was time to move
and, brutally opening the door before her,
told her to get out. Janina dressed hastily and,
without answering a word, left the house.
She walked along the streets, feeling nothing
but her homelessness and that dizziness in her
head which was engulfing all her thoughts.
She passed through Nowy Swiat and the
Ujazdowskie A116es and did not stop tmtil she
reached the lake in Lazienki Park.
The trees stood dying and their yellow
leaves spread a golden carpet over the paths.
The tranquillity of an autunm day htmg in the
air and only now and then a flock of sparrows
flew by with a noisy twitter, or the swans upon
the lake cried out mournfully and beat with
their wings the muddy-green water that looked
like worn velvet. All arotmd could be seen
the destruction wrought by the hand of golden
autunm. Wherever it touched the trees,
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The Comedienne 495
there the leaves withered and fell to the ground,
the grass dried up and the last auttimn asters
bent their lifeless heads and dripped with dew,
as though weeping tears after death.
''Death!** whispered Janina, pressing in her
hands the bottle that she had secured on the
previous night and she sat down, perhaps on
the same bench on which she had sat that
spring. It seemed to her that she was slowly-
drowsing away and that her thoughts were
fading, for her consciousness had begim to
disintegrate and she was already ceasing to
feel and to know. Everything was falling
away from her and dying, like the nature
about her that also seemed to be burning out
and drawing its last breath.
A rapturous feeling, full of peace and calm,
filled Janina's heart,, for the entire past was
vanishing from her memory; all her miseries,
all her disappointments, and all her struggles
faded away, paled and dispersed, as though
absorbed by that pale autimin sim that hung
over the park. It seemed to her that she had
never passed through them, never felt any-
thing, never suffered anything. It seemed to
her that she was curling up within herself,
growing smaller and shrinking, like that
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496 The Comedienne
withered leaf that hung upon the barbed wire
of the fence, all ready to drop and be hurled
down into the abyss of death by that light
breath of wind. Then again it seemed to her
that she was ripping to pieces, like that spider
web that tangled itself about the grass and
floated in glistening filaments through the air;
that she was unwinding into such gossamer
strands, into ever finer and finer filaments,
until she had vanished away into infinity and
lost all consciousness of herself. This feeling
moved her strongly and a strange tenderness
and pity for herself filled her heart with
sorrow.
"Poor girl! How unhappy she is!" whis-
pered Janina, as though she was speaking of
some other person.
Janina's soul was so rapidly disintegrating in
its agony that she no longer had a full and clear
conception of what the miseries were that had
vanquished her, what misf orttmes had broken
her, nor did she know why she was weeping or
who she was.
"Death!" she repeated mechanically and
that word f otmd a deep and tmconscious echo
in her brain and nerves and pressed only a
few tears from her eyes.
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The Comedienne 497
She stopped, without knowing why, before
the marble figure of the dancing Faun. The
rains had darkened his stony body and rusted
the locks of his hair that curled like hyacinths,
and his face, furrowed by streams of water,
seemed to have grown longer since the spring,
but in his eyes there gleamed and burned
that same mockery and his crooked legs con-
tinued their mad dance. "lo! lo! lo!'' he
seemed to sing, shaking his flute, laughing and
jeering at everything, and raising boldly to the
Sim his head which was crowned as though
with a bacchantic wreath by the withered
leaves that had fallen on it.
Janina gazed at him, but being unable
to remember or tmderstand anything, she
passed on.
On Nowy Swiat, in one of the chambres
garnies, she asked for a room, ink, letter-
paper, and envelopes. When everything had
been supplied, Janina locked herself up in the
room and wrote two letters: one brief, dry, and
painfully ironical letter to her father and an-
other longer and entirely calm one to Glogowski.
She notified them both of her suicide. She ad-
dressed the letters with the greatest acctiracy
and laid them in a conspicuous place.
33
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498 The Comedienne
Afterwards Janina calmly took from her
pocket the bottle with the poison, tmcorked it,
held the liqtiid up to the light and then, with-
out thinking or hesitating any longer — drank
it to the very dregs.
Suddenly, she stretched out her arms, a
gleam of terror shot across her face, her eyes
closed, as though blinded by some measureless
void that opened before, and she fell prone
upon the floor, in dreadful convulsions of pain.
A few days later, Kotlicki, having returned
from Lublin where he had installed Topolski's
company, was sitting in a coffee-house, looking
over the newspapers, and by some strange
chance his eye fell upon the following item
among the local accidents of the day:
"The Suicide of an Actress
*'0n Tuesday, in the chambres garnies on
Nowy Swiat, the servants were aroused by
moans issuing from one of the rooms which
an hour ago had been engaged by an tmknown
woman. They broke open the door and a
dreadful sight met their eyes. Upon the
floor lay writhing in pain a yotmg and beauti-
ful woman. Two letters left behind by her
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The Comedienne 499
revealed that she was a certain Janina Orlow-
ska, a former chorus girl who appeared last
season in the N. N. Theater tinder Cabinski's
management.
''A physician was called and the tmcon-
scious woman was taken to the Hospital of
the Infant Jesus. Her condition is serious
but . it still holds forth some hope. Miss
Orlowska poisoned herself with essence of vine-
gar, as is attested by the bottle that was fotmd
in her room. The cause of her desperate act
is tmknown, but an investigation is being
made. . . .'*
Kotlicki read this over several times, knitted
his brows, tugged at his mustache, read it
again and, finally, crumpled up The Courier
and threw it in anger upon the floor.
"A comedienne! A comedienne!'' he whis-
pered scornfully, biting his lips.
THE END
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A Selection from the
Catalogue of
C. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
Completer Catalo|(ti««
on applicatioa
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THE STRANGENESS
OF NOEL CARTON
By
WILLIAM CAINE
Noel Carton, driven to desperation
by his vulgar little wife who, in buy-
ing his position, is forced to accept him
with it, determines to bury himself in
the writing of a novel, in the vain hope
of forgetting. At the same time he
elects to keep a secret journal. In his
novel he subconsciously draws the
portraits of the living people surround-
ing him.
How this novel becomes inextricably
entangled with his own journal is the
basis for this extraordinarily original
story which leads to an astounding
climax.
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
New York London
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The
Rose of Jericho
By
Ruth Holt Boucicault
It is a remarkable fact that stories
of the stage seldom reflect its ro-
mance and glamour. This story has
caught both and at the same time is
faithful to that mimic world. We
have here lifelike character por-
trayal, a heroine of courage and fas-
cination, and that struggle against
odds, new and unusual, which is
indispensable to any vital story.
Q. P. Putnam's Sons
New York London
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KOBIETY
(Women)
by
SOFJA RYGIER-NALKOWSKA
OF WARSAW
This book is an extraordi-
nary analysis of unusual feminine
psychology. It is vividly out-
spoken, the work of an intelleo
tual rebel, the peculiar charm of
whose writing lies, perhaps, in
its Slavic flavor — a flavor in no
wise lost by the translator, Michael
Henry Dziewicki, English lecturer
at Jagellonian University, Cracow.
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
New York London
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lllllliilllil
3 9015 01349 6792
DO NOT REMOVE
OR
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